TITLE: Title
Short and Long Term Parking Management Strategies for The 203 Project
PURPOSE: The purpose of this item is to layout the short term parking management strategy that staff has designed to accommodate parking during the construction of The 203 Project.
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DEPARTMENT: Economic and Community Development
CONTACT INFORMATION: Annette Stone, Economic and Community Development Director astone@townofcarrboro.org <mailto:astone@townofcarrboro.org> 919-918-7319
INFORMATION: First, the goal will be to provide spaces that are open and easily identifiable to the customers of the downtown. We will address both daytime use and nighttime use. A key strategy in doing this will be to move employees, park and ride, or other longer term parking out of core downtown lots including the West Weaver, Century Center, Armadillo, and Jean Ward’s lot (next to Barber Shop on Main).
For daytime parking, staff is working with White Oak HOA to gain access for 30 parking spaces for Town Hall employees to park. With this shift, we will ask downtown employees currently parking in the West Weaver (or other downtown lots) to park at Town Hall. Staff has reached out to East Main Square to allow Century Center staff to park for more than the 3 hour period in the parking deck. We are working with the Bank of America to relocate 8 spaces reserved in the Century Center lot for the Police Department to the Bank of America lot. In addition, the parking study showed that the parking deck is underutilized during the day by around 50% ( 75 spaces). Our communication strategy will direct people to park in the deck, especially during underutilized daytime hours.
For nighttime parking, Fitch Lumber and Piedmont Health have agreed to allow parking after business hours and on weekends. There are approximately 50 spaces in the Fitch Lumber lot and 85+ in the Piedmont Health lot. We could consider a valet parking system for these lots. Staff is monitoring the CVS lot as a new owner is anticipated soon and talking with other private lot owners for shared/leasing options.
Enforcement of the core lots identified above are essential to this strategy to keep parking open and available for downtown customers. Staff is working on a plan to begin enforcement of the two-hour limited parking in these lots. Finally, our communication strategy will include temporary signage to direct users to available parking, updated story mapping at parkcarrboro.com, and a strong social media campaign on where to park in Carrboro.
Implementation of this plan will require participation on everyone’s part. We are beginning with our own town employees and have had several meetings to discuss issues around parking including reasonable walking distances, alternative modes of transportation, and the special considerations that need to be considered in a shift in parking patterns. Staff has also begun to reach out to downtown businesses that utilize public parking lots for employees to inform them of the strategy for short term parking.
Parking Associated with The 203 Project
Information on the parking program for building users and those who presently park in the public parking lot at this location will be presented by Iain Banks with parking consultants Nelson-Nygaard.
FISCAL & STAFF IMPACT: Cost and budgets for lease and/or up fit of parking lots are still being developed/negotiated, but will be included in the budget for the 203 Project.
RECOMMENDATION:r Staff recommends the Board receive the report.