Usage of Burlington’s parking system is below optimal efficiency, especially in private parking facilities
. A 2011 study reported that 35% of parking spaces were vacant at peak times throughout the City of Burlington. In addition to lack of efficiency, a number of other reasons have been identified in support of launching a new Parking Management Plan.
Why Now?
- The DPW Traffic Fund lacks sufficient capital to maintain and improve its downtown garages, which have suffered from many years of delayed capital investment
- Burlington residents, customers, and employees report a mediocre to negative experience when using Burlington’s downtown parking system.
- An efficient and well-managed parking system is key to Burlington’s future economic vitality.
- Plan BTV calls for a comprehensive approach to parking management in the downtown
- Interest exists from private garage
Outcomes:
- Create a Parking Management Plan based on significant input from national parking experts, and data from pilot projects and daily garage operations.
- Complete an assessment of our downtown parking facilities including maintenance needs, expected lifespan, and capital improvement needs.
- Implement a community wide education and information plan to inform key stakeholders and the larger community about improvements to the parking system.
- Complete a series of pilot projects to test the impact of changes to our parking system that are in line with our mission, and collecting data from those pilots to help us learn.
The BBA welcomed Jeffrey Tumlin, owner and principal of the transportation planning and engineering firm
Nelson\Nygaard out of San Francisco, to its
Downtown Parking Summit this month as the event’s keynote speaker. A vibrant speaker, Tumlin is a transportation planner specializing in the sustainable development of transit-oriented master plans wirth experience in cities such as Portland, Seattle, Denver and Vancouver. He delivered a dynamic presentation of ways in which our city can both improve and sustain a better parking system.
Click the photo to view Jeff Tumlin’s presentation