Walker Consultants evaluated the parking system of Red Bank, New Jersey, a vibrant downtown comprised of retail, dining and entertainment uses. Parking in the downtown area is busy, and stakeholders expressed concern that the parking system is inadequate to accommodate demand generated by downtown businesses and arts venues.
Walker prepared strategies for managing the parking system, projections of the parking supply’s ability to meet the community’s needs now and as growth continues, and recommendations to make the system operate more effectively.
Key Features
- Busy downtown core with active retail, live theater school, and a hospital
- Stakeholders, residents and business owners, expressed concern that the parking system is inadequate to accommodate demand generated by downtown businesses and arts venues
- Walker’s comprehensive report discovered parking in surplus and provided management solutions to alleviate concern
Solutions Provided
- Community engagement, such as surveys, input meetings, and interviews
- Parking utilization studies with public and private parking, plus turnover studies
- Immediate (0-12 months), near term (12-24 months), and long term (24+ months) implementation plans
- Growth projections
Benefits
- Public-private shared parking agreements could augment the public supply and reduce congestion
- Recommended updates of meters and wayfinding/signage, plus hiring an official parking director to manage the parking utility would improve efficiency and level of service for customers
Photos of Red Bank courtesy Jazz Guy (flickr) under CC BY 2.0
