On Sept. 11, the city’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency held an open house to discuss the city’s Downtown Parking Study.
The survey — which was available for about six weeks — from mid-December 2024 to the end of January 2025, received responses from 369 individuals including 225 unique written comments. Many of the written responses addressed several topics related to parking in Downtown.
Of 369 respondents, 74% frequent Downtown, with most visiting weekly for events, dining or work.
The majority (71.3%) drive; parking is evenly split between on-street and facilities, and most park near Central Avenue.
While 44.3% find parking easy, safety remains a consideration, with 78.4% citing safety concerns, especially at night.
Some key takeaways from the report are:
- 3% of respondents easily find parking Downtown, while only 14.7% find it difficult.
- Most respondents (61.2%) are willing to park a few blocks away from their destination.
- Only 12.1% of respondents strongly prioritize parking close to their destination, while the rest consider finding a spot quickly a more important factor.
- The majority of respondents (54.5%) prioritize saving money when finding parking.
- Only 21.6% of respondents always feel safe when parking and walking Downtown.
- In the written comments, many expressed interests in redeveloping parking into housing, businesses or parks.
While there are more than 21,000 parking spaces Downtown, the city said the overwhelming response it’s found is that many people said it’s still difficult to find a spot.
Terri Brunner, director of the city’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency, said the city is hoping to make it easier for people to find parking by potentially adding more kiosks or signs.