Title
Presentation on Parking Count Updates
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is to provide an update on parking counts in public parking lots completed in March 2025.
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Department
DEPARTMENT: Economic Development
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Council Direction
COUNCIL DIRECTION:
___ Race/Equity ____ Climate ____ Comprehensive Plan _X__Other
Council Direction Statement
This update will provide Council with additional information to assist in making policy decisions related to public parking.
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Information
INFORMATION:
Background
The Town's significant analysis of parking was first initiated in 2019 with the hiring of Walker Consulting to conduct a Parking Study of the downtown area. Due to the COVID Pandemic, parking counts were delayed until the Fall of 2021. One year later in the Fall of 2022, staff conducted a parking count of public, off-street parking locations to determine trends and post-pandemic impact on publicly available parking.
Since these previous studies, Carr Mill Mall began regularly towing vehicles of passengers who did not patron the Mall's businesses. This began in later summer and fall of 2023 (and continues to this day). Town staff undertook a public parking information campaign. This included creating a downtown parking webpage, placing yard signs with information about public parking around downtown, social media posts on public parking locations, leaving postcards with public parking information at local businesses, hanging public parking maps at Town Information Centers, and providing information about public parking in Town newsletters. In Spring 2025, the Drakeford Library Complex parking deck opened, creating an additional 134 public parking spaces downtown.
This most recent count in Spring 2025 was conducted to continue to monitor demand, determine capacity, and the need for additional parking. The counts were conducted on a Thursday and a Saturday to approximate weekday and weekend parking demands. There were no major events occurring ...
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