The daily dash for a parking space near the state Capitol could be over before next year's legislative session.

Plans are rolling along to build a parking structure with about 600 spaces directly west of the Roundhouse — a project that Paula Tackett, Legislative Council Services director, says could be completed by January 2009.

She knocked on the wooden part of the chair where she was seated at the Capitol on Tuesday to indicate her hope — something shared by many who fight to find parking during the session.

Already, the state is looking at two bidders for the multilevel structure, Tackett said. A selection committee is set to choose a contractor and architect Feb. 29.

It's likely just one state-owned edifice, the Coughlin Building, would be knocked down for the project.

The project — roughly where the state has a parking lot sandwiched between Paseo de Peralta and Manhattan Avenue on one side and buildings on the south side of South Capitol Street on the other — could be started by April, Tackett said.

Meanwhile, the state in past sessions has $11.5 million set aside for the project. A measure this year sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, would add about $60,000 a year to the money that is diverted from gross receipts taxes to help pay for the project.

The news is welcome to Roundhouse regulars, including Charlotte Roybal, the executive director of the Health Care for All Campaign.

"What it provides for is access for citizens," she said. "Today was League (of Women Voters) Day, and it was difficult to find a place," she said.

"We are thrilled to know the Legislature is acknowledging the issue of parking," she said.

The garage is sorely needed: During the session, a good chunk of metered parking around the Capitol becomes reserved. Nearly all the spaces at the Public Employees Retirement Association lot — a popular space to the east of the Capitol — are reserved or filled by 8 a.m. Finding a spot on nearby neighborhood streets is also a matter of luck, since many are for residents only. And don't even think about leaving your car in the lot of visitor parking that during the summer usually has spots throughout the day.

There is some paid parking within a hop of the Roundhouse, but it's not cheap: A lot just across the street on Paseo de Peralta costs $15 a day.

The parking crunch is years old, and many Albuquerque residents with interests at the Capitol have figured that carpooling is the best bet. And the state's Department of Transportation runs two legislative shuttles a day, picking up employees from various state offices and dropping them at the Capitol.

"We do need the parking situation to be solved," said House Minority Floor Leader Tom Taylor, R-Farmington, who serves on the Capitol Building Planning Commission. "We just need to move forward."

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog, Green Chile Chatter, at www.sfnewmexican.com.