DESIGN Public Parking Management PARKING PROGRAMS
Parking programs that can help downtown’s public parking facilities are a set of physical improvements and services that can help parking become available to those that need it to enhance economic development in downtown. Other factors that drive the parking systems downtown include local Zoning Ordinance requirements. The PDDP team examined these in detail and proposed several amendments that are discussed in Regulatory Framework, page 139. GOAL
On street parking is for short-term (two hours or less) Off-street parking is for long-term (more than two hours) PROPOSAL
Enforce Two hour limits on public street on street parking. Currently, many of the spaces along downtown streets are used by employees who can park directly outside of their offices or businesses. These spaces are then filled all day blocking the possibility of customers using the spaces for day to day activity. By enforcing the on street limits, currently the city does not have an enforcement system, more spaces, particularly on Main Street, will be available for people who want to patronize local shops, restaurants and vendors. This ease of stopping in and moving on, helps activate customer access, improve traffic calming (as cars have to slow down to accommodate parking cars), and encourage people to think of downtown as accessible. The people who stay longer than two hours are generally residents and employees. Employees will need to find private or public lot or garage spaces for parking all day. This encourages lots that are more full and will eventually increase pressure towards repairing the existing garage and potentially investing and building a future garage that could open space on existing lots for commercial development. The PDDP team recommends that Main Street be the top priority for this enforcement with Roosevelt Avenue next and then all of the commercial downtown zone. The individual PDDP street improvement projects will add on street spaces which will help offer new places for people to find spaces. GOAL
Improve existing parking PROPOSAL
Renovate the Main Street Garage The existing garage at Main Street is in disrepair in a number of architectural ways: the lighting is poor; it has poor visibility from the inside to the outside (partially determined by its siting within a slope) making it feel unsafe; the exterior and interior materials have deteriorated; the pedestrian linkages are not clearly signed or made evident and its general appearance and signage are not of a high architectural quality. The location and size of the garage is appropriately scaled and within close distance to Main Street, but until it is more appealing and perceived as safe, it will not get the proper use to relieve Main Street of its ‘all day’ parkers. Some recent improvements in signage have increased its use, but it is not used nearly to capacity. Renovating the garage would also be a big sign to residents of the city investing in its downtown’s development. 80
PDDP DESIGN