DECEMBER 3, 2009 ISSUE
Boone Gathers Input on Downtown Parking
Increased Parking Fines, Shuttles, Meters Among Suggestions
Attendees of Tuesday’s parking charrette for downtown Boone scan the list of proposed parking solutions for recommendations that can be implemented in the short term.A crowd of about 35 people had numerous suggestions for improving parking availability in downtown Boone at a public charrette held December 1 at the Boone Town Council Chambers.
Becky Veazey of The MAPS Group, a Cary-based company that provides human resource services to public and nonprofit sectors, facilitated the charrette. Veazey said she will compile and prioritize recommended solutions based on input from the meeting and send a report to the Town Council in about a week.
Steve McLaurin of McLaurin Parking Company, which manages parking for the Town of Boone, provided information about current parking inventory and use downtown.
McLaurin said the Town of Boone has 560 parking spaces in the area between the Dan’l Boone Inn and Straight Street. Of those, 217 are on-street spaces, 140 are in the Queen Street lot (used primarily for prepaid accounts), 30 are behind the library, 97 are metered spaces on Queen Street, 38 are in the Town Hall lot and 23 are in the Depot Street lot.
When students are in town, occupancy of spaces is at about 60 percent in the early morning and reaches 80 percent or greater by mid-day, he said.
After asking participants to identify their interests and desires for downtown parking, Veazey solicited ideas for potential solutions from the group. Veazey asked the participants to vote on the proposed solutions as having a high, medium or low priority by a show of hands. Following are the results. Some votes were very close and could be reflected differently in Veazey’s report.
High Priority Solutions
• designated parking for tour buses, RVs
• better utilize parking spaces behind post office
• redo parking signage
• enforce parking rules weekdays and Saturday
• develop comprehensive parking plan and PR campaign involving all relevant groups
• increase parking fines
• use parking revenue for downtown parking needs
• ask ASU to incorporate more parking in master plan
• evaluate the ASU football game-day parking plan used in fall 2009
• account for parking revenues and expenses, including overhead
• implement short-term solutions ASAP
• address safety features in all parking areas
• form a task force of stakeholders to develop long-term solutions
• devise a parking plan that is fair to all and does not discriminate against certain groups
• utilize McLaurin Parking’s experience in other college towns
• install more bike lanes
• change ordinance to prevent drivers from moving vehicles short distances to circumvent intent of parking rules
• increase walkability downtown
• consider a transit tax to expand AppalCART bus routes
Medium Priority Solutions
• parking deck
• offsite parking with shuttles to downtown
• enforce parking restrictions in loading zones
• better utilize Queen Street parking spaces reserved for courthouse
• install parking meters in selected areas
• reserve at least one lot for monthly paid reserved parking
• collaborate with private owners of parking lots for public use on occasion
• create a joint town and university parking authority
Low Priority Solutions
• enforce parking rules seven days a week
• charge for premium on-street parking and offer free parking in peripheral lots
• negotiate with ASU for use of Raley lot on weekends for business employees
• use Depot Street lot as mini transit hub for AppalCART and bike parking
Short-Term Solutions
Veazey also asked participants to identify the solutions they felt could be implemented quickly and affordably. Attendees placed stickers on the recommendations they believed could be short-term solutions.
The solutions with the most stickers included offsite parking with shuttles, better utilization of spaces on Queen Street and behind the post office, new parking signage, enforcement of parking rules on Saturdays, fees for premium on-street parking and free parking in peripheral lots, use of ASU’s Raley lot on weekends for business employees, a parking plan and PR campaign involving all relevant groups, creation of a joint town and university parking authority, increased parking fines, asking ASU to incorporate more parking in master plan, formation of task force to develop long-term solutions, drawing from McLaurin Parking’s experience in other college towns and revising the town ordinance to prevent drivers from moving vehicles short distances to circumvent the intent of parking rules.
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