to offset the cost of develIt’s not just Blowing oping new parking areas, Rock where parking is Overtourism - The inability to that would be great.” an issue, as most anyone mitigate the effects of having so Despite the parking that ever travels to Boone many visitors that businesses cannot issues, Roger Brooks had understands. plenty of praise for Blow“We’ve had issues and accommodate them, lodging is at, ing Rock, particularly challenges with parking or over, capacity during the peak compared to a lot of the availability in downtown seasons, the environment is being other towns he has been Boone for a long time, and to. He sees Blowing Rock we’ve had parking chaloverrun, and the infrastructure cannot as one of the top 10% of lenges at our more popular accommodate the influx of visitors. destination locations in outdoor recreation areas the United States, while around the county as well. most places that he visits We have tried to address already added with parking meters and is that through the years and will continue something that Blowing Rock will be con- want help to make their locations a lot to do so,” said Wright Tilley, the Executive sidering as they begin to tackle their own more attractive to visitors. “Blowing Rock attracts the right kind Director of the Boone TDA. “No matter parking headaches. of tourist. That’s why you don’t see a how much parking you have, there is go“I know there had been some coming to be a want for more. I think we have plaints about that when paid parking came bunch of cheesy t-shirt shops, tattoo pargrown in the last 10 years to a point where into downtown Boone. We didn’t get com- lors, and you have a really good set of rewe need to start identifying alternative plaints from visitors, but we did get some tail businesses here,” Brooks said. “Some parking options. There has been a lot of complaints from residents about having to towns have a third of their downtown conversation about it in Boone for a num- pay to park in downtown Boone,” Tilley vacant and are asking me what they can ber of years. I think they are still looking at said. “The initial complaints were about do to get more visitors there because most options about building a new parking deck having an hour for parking. Once the of those towns have lost their primary inhere and other places where they can add parking got extended to several hours, we dustry, whether it’s a steel town or another parking around downtown Boone.” really haven’t gotten any complaints about manufacturing town. People tend to move Paid parking is something that Boone paying for parking. If that revenue can go to the urban areas, people graduate from
Blowing Rock’s crosswalks (top left) are one of the things that Roger Brooks proposed changes to. Other towns similar to Blowing Rock have crosswalks with intricate designs (bottom left). Brooks also suggested that the town promote the use of a shuttle or AppalCart to transport visitors from parking lots outside of Main Street. August / September 2021
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