By Adam Swift
A recently completed parking study for Broadway and the surrounding area shows that there are an adequate number of parking spaces, but that the city can take steps to more effectively and efficiently allocate those spaces.
Some of those recommendations made by Stantec, the consultant that completed the study, included adjusting parking rates so that they are higher in high-priority areas and lower in less-used areas near Broadway. Stantec also recommended the city improve its signage to point motorists to less-used parking spaces and lots and make improvements to the lighting and sidewalks leading to those spaces.
“In overview, what this study shows is we do have enough parking on Broadway, it is really important to make sure that our parking is most effectively and efficiently allocated, and that’s really what this study looked at,” said Tom Skwierawski, the city’s planning and economic development director.
The study looked at the existing parking system around Broadway and the supply and demand for parking spaces there.
Skwierawski said the Broadway parking study ties into the overall Broadway master plan being undertaken by the city.
At last week’s meeting, the city council moved the parking study to a future meeting of the economic development subcommittee for a further discussion of its recommendations.
“If we want to think about Broadway in the future, we need to consider and understand how parking will fit into all of that,” said Skwierawski.
Catrina Meyer of Stantec reviewed some of the data from the study.
Meyer said there are approximately 2,500 parking spaces in the Broadway region, which she said includes Broadway, as well as all the streets that intersect it. Those spaces break down fairly evenly between public and private parking spots.
Meyer noted that many of the off-street parking spaces are private, such as parking lots for businesses such as CVS.
An analysis of the demand for parking spaces showed that the heaviest demand is on weekdays during the early afternoon, especially in the area around city hall and Central Avenue, Meyer said.
“The overall takeaways from the very robust data collection is if you look at on-street meters only, you are never exceeding 50 percent utilized, there is always some availability across Broadway,” said Meyer. “However, in the case of some of those areas closest to the most attractive destinations, they are a bit more full.”
Looking at all the parking in the region, Meyer said the utilization never exceeds 57 percent when the off-street parking is added to the on-street parking availability.
While there is capacity for parking, Jason Schrieber of Stantec reiterated that there are ways the city can make parking work more efficiently on and around Broadway.
“One of the simplest things that can be done is already underway, which is a wayfinding plan to get people to know there are spaces in the Central Avenue and city hall lots,” said Schrieber.
That plan includes improved signage to help people get to and exit from the parking spaces that are not directly on Broadway.
Schrieber said the city could also look at ways of maximizing its existing spaces in the city hall lot.
When it comes to the parking fees, Schrieber said the city could improve the flow of traffic and parking turnover if the rates were raised at high-volume parking areas along Broadway while lowered in lower-use areas such as the Central Avenue lot. He said the city could also consider installing parking meters along some of the sidestreets for a few spaces closest to Broadway.
The city could also work with the owners of some of the private parking lots along Broadway that are not typically fully occupied to provide some additional public parking spaces.
The study also includes recommendations for more effective loading and delivery zones along Broadway to help alleviate double parking.
“Nothing in the plan looks to create a parking structure or additional parking, we are just working with what we have,” said Skwierawski.
