A $15.8 million public parking garage survived its first major test last weekend when it was packed to capacity by a steady river of visitors who flooded Old Town Temecula for the annual spring Rod Run.

The vehicle deluge came on a sunlit Saturday as the three-story Old Town Parking Garage Temecula marked its second week of operations. The garage helped ease, but did not eliminate, the parking scramble sparked by the annual show that is held in the city’s historic business district.

"I think it did (help)," City Councilman Mike Naggar said as he was preparing to leave the show at about 12:30 p.m. "We didn’t need to shuttle people over the freeway like we did before."

In fact, Naggar reported one of the day’s few glitches at the garage, which now provides more than 470 free spaces at Main and Mercedes streets. It is the first segment of a larger city project to open at that location.

Naggar’s exit was delayed by a technology glitch, as his electronic "key" failed to admit him to the basement level where he had parked his pickup earlier in the day. The basement level provides secure parking for city officials and vehicles.

A public works employee had to be summoned to the garage to open a door so Naggar could reach his truck.

"I suppose that if they opened this section it’d fill up in an instant," mused Naggar, who was using the garage for the first time.

The garage is part of Temecula’s sprawling civic center complex, which will fill about five acres at that intersection and is expected to cost about $73 million.

City officials say the remainder of the project – which will house the new City Hall as well as an outdoor plaza, fountain, mosaic mural, retail shops, a visitors center and a police satellite office – should open as early as September.

Naggar wasn’t the only first-time user of the garage. Many other visitors aimed for the garage as a way to avoid paying $10 to park at a private lot about a quarter-mile away or jockey for a rare open spot along Pujol Street, Felix Valdez Road or other side streets throughout the area.

Nearly every spot in the garage was full when Mike Gojich and his wife and 15-month-old child arrived from Hemet at 9:30 a.m. Advertisement

[ Berry-Bell and Hall Mortuary ] The garage was so full that the family had to park on the upper level of the rectangular, concrete structure.

Greg Hollingsworth of Lake Elsinore ended his search for a parking place by claiming the space vacated by the Gojiches at about 12:45 p.m.

"I got lucky with them leaving," Hollingsworth said as he headed for the extravaganza of color and chrome at ground level. He said it’s been several years since he visited a Rod Run, which typically attracts 45,000 to 60,000 visitors over a two-day period when sunny skies prevail.

"We’ve been waiting for (the garage)," Hollingsworth said. "It’s always been a hassle parking here, even just coming down for dinner."

Every available space in the garage was occupied during a walk-through of the garage about that time. Many drivers were waiting for others to leave, and some were asking pedestrians if they would soon be exiting the structure.

Saturday’s Rod Run was one of the largest ever. Last spring’s show attracted about 625 vintage cars and trucks. Saturday’s event exceeded that amount by about 100 vehicles, city officials said.

"This is bigger," said Merle Miller, who was showing his restored 1957 Chevrolet pickup. "There were only four (pre-registration) spots left this morning."

Miller and his wife, Kathy, took turns wiping fingerprints away from the truck’s glittering chrome and cherry-red finish.

The city provided up to $39,100 to offset the cost of police, fire, public works and other support services.

Car show organizers, the P & R Foundation, expected to raise about $55,000 in vendor and sponsorship fees to stage the event. Of that, about $20,000 could be allocated to local nonprofit groups and charities after all the costs are paid, according to a report filed with the city.

The new garage was part of the lure that attracted Israel Sanchez and his family from Riverside to the Rod Run. Sanchez said he had read about the garage in a newspaper story, and opted to return to the popular event for a day’s outing.

"It kind of relieved the stress of finding parking," Sanchez said as he was loading his two sons, ages 3 and 4, into a wagon outfitted with a cooler, shade cover and oversized tires. "By knowing there was parking, it kind of made my day better knowing I wouldn’t have to struggle as much."