Build it and they will park.

That’s our prediction for a Winslow-area parking garage.

This week’s rollout of an idea long in the making — a parking structure to serve the many folks who visit downtown to work, shop or play — received a rather inglorious welcome at Tuesday’s council meeting.

Some critics said the proposal to convert two surface parking lots to an underground structure that would hold upwards of 400 vehicles would be a blight on Town Square, another sign of the gentrification of Bainbridge Island, or the death knell to the annual farmers market.

Unconvinced, we are.

Instead, we think this idea deserves an open-minded look.

To be sure, there are issues that could keep us up at night. One is what would happen to the farmers market during construction, as well as access to city hall and Bainbridge Performing Arts.

Is that access issue insurmountable? It’s too soon to tell.

What’s more certain, however, is that any growth of the farmers market in its present location won’t happen, and expansion of BPA or the historical museum are also be on the bubble unless those facilities encroach into valuable space already occupied by parked cars.

Building a parking structure will have other challenges, from financing the effort to overcoming the tiresome anti-auto bias of those who feel that Bainbridge should focus its infrastructure efforts on transportation improvements that some say everybody wants, but few actually use [such as bike lanes along city streets].

Let’s be real; not everyone wants to, or has the ability, to bike or walk to Winslow from areas outside the downtown. And it’s beyond argument that not only downtown businesses — but other essential components of the community such as tourism, the farmers market, BPA and the museum — would also benefit from additional parking.

Is Town Square the best site for a downtown parking garage? Maybe not, but let’s not halt the conversation before it has begun.