River City Company and CARTA are leading an effort to study parking in Downtown Chattanooga. The study is in partnership with the City of Chattanooga, and funding is provided by The Lyndhurst and Benwood Foundations, along with several downtown stakeholders, including Erlanger Health System, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation.
Kim White, president and CEO of River City Company, says strategic parking solutions will be vital for all who enjoy Downtown Chattanooga as it continues to grow and change.
“There are strategic solutions for parking that can be implemented both quickly and in the long-term that can assist in meeting parking needs,” White says. “Future parking demand will be greatly affected by things like the rise of car share, public transportation options, ride sharing services like Uber and the increased residential choices about to be available downtown.”
“We want to make sure we are planning for the future and making smart decisions about how limited downtown space is utilized,” White adds.
The study will provide an understanding of how the downtown parking situation will change over a 10-year period and what forms of action are necessary to support growth while maintaining an adequate and effective parking system.
The scope of the $250,000 study includes a full parking supply and demand analysis: current off-street and on-street parking supply and demand, an inventory and distribution of public and private facilities and the groups served by these facilities and utilization rates by day and hour for shared use opportunities.
In addition, future parking demand will be analyzed with regard to existing zoning requirements, current and future development, special events that place a non-typical strain on the parking supply and the identification and evaluation of locations for added parking.
River City Company and CARTA selected Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, and the businesses are conducting a request for proposals process to complete the study. The 130-person transportation firm has offices across the U.S. and has completed similar projects in Asheville, North Carolina, Columbus, Indiana and Hartford, Connecticut
Source: River City Company