Washington Street in Providence.
Experts to study city’s parking woes this week
If you see a sharp-dressed man jotting down notes as he ogles your downtown
parking space this week, don’t worry. He’s not there to steal your spot – he’s
here to fix the city’s parking problem.
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A group of a half dozen parking sages from such faraway cities as Dallas,
Minneapolis and Boise, Idaho will be scampering through downtown Providence
early this week, taking inventory of parking meters, surveying private lots,
and, most importantly, brainstorming.
“What we hope to do in Providence is look for creative ways to increase the
level of both efficiency and customer-friendliness in the parking system downtown,”
said David M. Feehan, president of the International Downtown Association, which
assembled the panel of experts.
The Washington, D.C.-based group claims partial credit for solving parking
or transportation conundrums in places such as Times Square in Manhattan, Philadelphia’s
Center City District, Denver’s lower downtown and in other cities.
The $20,000 effort is being organized and funded by the Providence Foundation,
the city of Providence, the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the Rhode
Island Economic Development Corporation. Representatives say the analysis should
bring a fresh approach to a stale problem.
“There’s been a lot of studies and discussions and concerns about the parking
problem downtown,” said Dan Baudouin, executive director of the Providence Foundation.
“But in terms of coming up with a comprehensive plan that deals with both on-street
and off-street parking, there really hasn’t been a coordinated strategy.”
The study is at least partly a response to the city’s recently hatched plan
to crack down on public parking downtown. The sweeping plan – aimed at drumming
up an additional $2 million in annual revenue – includes:
• Raising hourly meter charges to $1
• Jacking fines for parking violations from 50 to 300 percent
• Nearly tripling the number of parking meters in the city, from 600 to as
many as 1,600.
• Extending meter hours to 11 p.m. in certain areas, which have yet to be
determined.
Business leaders have expressed concerns that new barriers to parking downtown
– already a hassle for daytime employees and restaurant and theatergoers at
night – could dampen the action downtown.
“I think all of those (parking initiatives) are shortsighted, in terms of
a long-term economic development plan for downtown,” said Josh Miller, president
of Downtown Merchants Association and owner of Trinity Brew House.
Miller said making it harder to park downtown would tilt the competitive advantage
away from downtown businesses and toward suburban malls and restaurants, where
parking normally is not a problem.
Lynn Singleton, president and chief executive officer of the Providence Performing
Arts Center, said the city needs to weigh the chance to boost revenue against
the risk of hurting sales at downtown businesses.
“At the end of the day, how much revenue are they really generating, and is
it worth it?” Singleton said.
Restaurant, nightclub and theater owners are especially critical of the extended
meter hours.
“People won’t drive to a place that’s not convenient for them to park,” said
Dale Venturini, president of the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association.
“It changes their whole experience when they go downtown for a nice dinner and
end up getting an expensive ticket.”
John Simmons, director of administration for Mayor David N. Cicilline, said
the city still is fine-tuning the parking initiative, and that it has not decided
which meters will have extended hours. The time limits on meters that do run
later likely would be extended beyond one or two hours, he said, so patrons
don’t have to worry about running out of a restaurant or show to feed the meter.
Simmons added that the city is waiting to see what suggestions the parking
panel comes up with before finalizing its parking plans, which include putting
out to bid an order for hundreds of new, “state-of-the-art” meters.
Feehan, of the International Downtown Association, says that almost every
city grapples with parking problems that stymie downtown vitality.
“In almost every city, people will cite parking as the No. 1 or No. 2 reason
why they don’t like to come downtown,” Feehan said. “The challenge is to find
ways that the parking system can actually welcome people to downtown.”
As tough as that sounds, Feehan says cities that have been aggressive in addressing
their parking problems are seeing results. In places like Tempe, Ariz. and Kalamazoo,
Mich., well-lighted lots – both private and public – with clear signage and
good customer service have enticed more downtown visitors, he said.
To ease the daytime parking crunch, Feehan said, some cities offer “storage
lots” on the city’s outskirts, where employees who don’t need their cars during
the day can park for cheap and catch a shuttle bus to the office. That opens
up more expensive spots in the heart of downtown for visitors and employees
who use their cars during the day.
Other cities have taken the association’s recommendations to heart: Seattle,
Spokane, Wash., Boise and Long Beach, Calif. all are devising parking programs
around their expert panels’ recommendations.
The panel will meet with local officials and business groups on Monday and
Tuesday to discuss their preliminary perceptions. In coming weeks it will prepare
a 10- to 15-page report outlining possible solutions.
Former Providence Mayor Joseph R. Paolino Jr., whose real estate firm owns
a handful of parking lots in the city, says local leaders should welcome the
parking experts’ recommendations with open minds.
“Rhode Islanders don’t travel much, so we might not know what works in other
places,” he said. “Let these guys come in and tell us what they think."
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