SOUTH SALT LAKE — Across 3300 South from one of the valley's largest movie houses, employees of Crown Jewelry and Pawn have watched plenty of nail-biting action sequences.
"There is accident after accident after accident," clerk Harry Patrick said. "It can get scary."
On any given day, Patrick, a retired Salt Lake City police officer, watches as cars attempt to turn through two lanes of traffic to enter the Century 16 parking lot or as families dash across the busy road after parking at nearby businesses.
Since the opening of Century 16 Theatres, parking and traffic have been about the only complaints heard about the multiplex, South Salt Lake Economic and Development Director Bruce Talbot said.
The problem even came up during preliminary discussions about the theater, during which Century owners agreed to add an additional 50 spaces to the city's required parking space allotment.
Century Theatres management declined to be interviewed for this story.
"They have, by the book, sufficient parking places," Talbot said. "However, 'by the book' was never meant to accommodate a 16-screen theater."
The initial problem may have been figuring the parking based solely on available seating. Instead, the city should also have accounted for the number of people who arrive before a movie is finished, creating a double-parking problem, Talbot said.
Various solutions have been discussed, especially a parking structure or another parking lot. Because of the high cost of property acquisition and construction, neither solution would work very well. In reality, Talbot said, the best solution may be the continued commercial growth of the area, which the city is pushing through a proposed RDA for the deserted Fred Meyer store kitty-corner to the theaters.
Another factor theater planners may not have considered was human behavior. Many times, the secondary parking lot across 200 East will only fill halfway, yet people will cram into the lots of the restaurants directly across from Century.
"There is laziness on the part of the patrons," Talbot said. "They would rather park in nearby businesses and risk crossing the street than walk an extra block."
Along with parking problems, the multiplex has also created a number of traffic issues. During especially busy times — such as highly anticipated premieres — cars will pile up in both directions, essentially making 3300 South a two-lane road. To curb those problems, the Utah Department of Transportation will install a traffic light and left turn signal at 200 East and build a raised median at approximately 100 East, UDOT Region 2 Director Craig Pope said.
Although some business owners close their lots with chains or tow vehicles from their lots, not all of the businesses complain about the additional people. At the Ho Ho Gourmet, the lot is almost always packed on weekend nights, and not just because of the movies, hostess Sarinya Ounarom said.
"We like to let people park here, because then a lot of them will eat here," she said. "I've worked here for two years and have never seen problems."
E-MAIL: jloftin@desnews.com