Research Findings & Final Recommendations Shared

What: Downtown Durham Parking Study Open Houses

Who: City of Durham Transportation Department Parking Management Division and Nelson\Nygaard

When: Thursday, October 4, 2018, at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 6 p.m.

Where: City Hall Council Chambers, 101 City Hall Plaza, Durham, N.C. 27701

Fast Facts:

• Parking in downtown Durham remains in high demand, and in order for the City’s Transportation Department to plan for parking needs over the next 10 years, a downtown parking study is currently in its final stages.

• As the study nears completion, the department is hosting four drop-in style open houses for residents, business owners, and other downtown stakeholders to learn more about the research findings and final recommendations proposed by Nelson\Nygaard, the department’s consultant, to improve downtown parking now and in the future. Light refreshments will be served.

• These final open houses are part of the downtown parking study that began in November 2017 to help the department understand the nature of parking in light of emerging trends, plan for Durham’s future needs, and build on the findings of the 2013 Comprehensive Parking Study.

• As part of the study, public input has been sought to learn more about parking habits – how and where residents and visitors use downtown parking facilities – and more importantly, ways to improve parking through an online survey completed by 1,741 people along with 27 community engagement sessions held to speak directly with downtown stakeholders about ways to improve parking.

• The study area encompasses most of the extended downtown area from approximately Buchanan Avenue east to Elm Street and from Trinity Avenue south to Lakewood Avenue. In addition to collecting parking feedback from the public, the study includes an assessment of the supply and demand for downtown public parking as well as a determination on the need for additional parking in both short-term and future development scenarios. The study also includes strategies to improve the maintenance and management of City-owned surface parking lots, garages, and on-street parking spaces and evaluations of the days and hours of parking enforcement, current parking restrictions, and associated wayfinding signage effectiveness.

• The study also provides ways to deliver safe, convenient parking for all downtown users including residents, employees, and visitors as well as accommodations for special events. It also determines the need and feasibility for demand-based pricing or changes to current parking rates. Finally, the study provides recommended design improvements to increase the efficiency of City-owned parking facilities and includes improvements to parking-related signs and other wayfinding, and/or new parking facilities.

• After this final round of open houses, the City’s Transportation Department plans to present the final recommendations to the Durham City Council later this year.

• For more information about the downtown parking study, contact Parking Administrator Thomas Leathers with the City’s Transportation Department Parking Management Division at (919) 560-4366, ext. 36207 or [email protected]. 

About the City of Durham Transportation Department

The Transportation Department is responsible for a broad range of transportation services, which include traffic signs and signals, transportation planning, parking operations, street lighting, taxicab administration, and bicycle and pedestrian planning. The department also oversees GoDurham and GoDurham ACCESS as well as leads planning functions for the Durham-Chapel Hill-Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organization (DCHC MPO), which is the regional organization that is responsible for planning and programming state and federal transportation projects in the urbanized areas of Durham, Orange, and Chatham counties. Guided by the City’s Strategic Plan, the department helps to strengthen the foundation, enhance the value, and improve the quality and sustainability of neighborhoods that are necessary for a strong and diverse community. For more information, follow the department on Twitter.