Solutions to parking problems: special commission, data collection, alternative transportation

Columbia Missourian

COLUMBIA — City Council members, residents, business owners and representatives from MU came together Tuesday and Wednesday to tackle the parking problem in downtown Columbia. In the end, they found seven priority solutions, including creating a parking commission, collecting additional data and informing the public of alternative transportation.

The community forum Tuesday and the stakeholder workshop Wednesday were part of a grant that the city of Columbia received from Smart Growth America to identify and solve parking issues in and around downtown. The company gives about 12 to 15 grants to cities across America annually.

About 40 people were invited to convene about problems with parking. In a workshop Wednesday, the group brainstormed possible solutions with Jim Charlier, the president of Charlier Associates, a transportation planning firm that works with Smart Growth America.

At the end of the workshop, attendees decided on top priorities for the immediate future, including creating a parking commission or committee, advertising public transportation, collecting additional data, creating residential parking permit programs and improving downtown access and circulation.

At the public forum on Tuesday, members of the community listened to presentations and had an hour to comment about possible solutions.

"The most important thing right now is we're listening to the consultants and facilitating discussion with residents," said Leah Christian, a management fellow with the city manager's office.

Smart Growth America Senior Policy Manager Elizabeth Schilling talked about the importance of strategic expansion for cities.

"If cities think about the environmental impacts of growth when they start growing, they'll be able to save money on environmental planning in the long run," Schilling said.

She said different generations have different priorities when they look for a place to live and subsequently where to park. For instance, millennials choose where to live based on proximity to places to eat, shop, work, etc. The emphasis on proximity encourages businesses to build close together.

This compact development is less expensive in the long run but requires planning, Schilling said.

Charlier said Tuesday that parking is a utility in Columbia, and the city should start thinking of it that way. He used an example: A city wouldn't ask each building to build its own wells for water, so they shouldn't require buildings to have a certain number of parking spaces.

Columbia currently has a minimum requirement for parking spaces, depending on the type of building, according to the City Code of Ordinances.

The forum and workshop followed an audit in late August that pinpointed trends of downtown parking, such as parking turnover and space occupancy, according to previous Missourian reporting.

The audit found that in the Benton-Stephens and East Campus neighborhoods, more cars were parked on the street than the marked spaces allowed, Public Works Traffic Engineering Supervisor Richard Stone said during the meeting Tuesday.

North Central Neighborhood Association President Dan Cullimore said Tuesday that he had conducted his own informal audit over the course of several days and had found unused spaces.

Second Ward Councilman Michael Trapp said on Wednesday there are spaces available but they're just not desirable.

"I think it's a perception that there's a lack of parking," Trapp said. "I think it's a cultural adjustment. The parking study shows that there's ample parking in downtown, it just may not be on Ninth Street or on Broadway."