TITLE: Title
Parking Plan Implementation Strategies
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is to update the Board on Staff’s proposal to implement the recommended strategies found in the Parking Plan.
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DEPARTMENT: Planning and Economic and Community Development
CONTACT INFORMATION: Annette Stone, ECD Director astone@townofcarrboro.org <mailto:astone@townofcarrboro.org> and Patricia McGuire Planning Director pmcguire@townofcarrboro.org
INFORMATION: In April 2017, the Board of Aldermen officially adopted the parking study and the associated recommendations that came out of the planning process as the town’s Parking Plan. By resolution, the Board directed staff to begin to develop a strategy and timeline for the implementation of the plan, including prioritization of the recommended management strategies and the rationale for the prioritization. Section 6 of the plan includes implementation strategies laid out in near-term and long term initiatives. Page 61 Table 15 (Attachment 1) details the recommended parking management strategies by category and implementation year. Staff has determined that the following strategies can be implemented within year 1 and 2 of the planning period by priority.
A top priority is create a wayfinding plan and standardization of the town’s regulatory signage. The study found during various peak times of use there was still available parking. Directing users to existing spaces is a top priority for managing the existing parking available. The CTDA has earmarked money for a study and is committed to funding signage based on a wayfinding plan. The town’s public works department is equipped to create and replace new regulatory signage once new regulatory sign guidelines have been adopted. A wayfinding study and recommendations for regulatory signage can be completed end June 30, 2018. In year 2 of the plan, it is expected that new signage will be created and installed throughout downtown by the end of June 30, 2019.
Another top priority is to reach out to coordinate shared parking arrangements among property owners. Utilizing data from the parking plan, staff will contact owners who were identified as having occupancy of 55% or less utilization in their lots and work to pair those with owners who were identified with70% or greater utilization. Negotiations for shared parking will be the responsibility of the property owners. Communications with property owners will begin in October and continue until all owners have been contacted. Staff expects this type of outreach to be on-going, as conditions change in the downtown.
VHB’s work on development of the Parking Plan included an evaluation of the Town’s parking requirements. Staff is reviewing that evaluation for additional strategies and possible changes to parking standards.
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: Funds in the CTDA budget are anticipated to be sufficient to cover work on wayfinding and sign standardization. Staff impacts to implement the shared parking outreach and arrangements is not anticipated to be extraordinary.
RECOMMENDATION:r Staff recommends that the Board consider this update.