Downtown Olympia faces ‘turning point’ for public parking

Olympia will hire a consultant this summer to study parking problems and solutions in the downtown core.

The availability of downtown parking has been a sticking point with businesses and visitors alike for years. But parking spots are expected to become more scarce with the increase in downtown housing options, including the 123 4th Apartments.

Likewise, the city anticipates another 5,000 residents will move to downtown Olympia in the next 20 years and have a significant impact on the supply and demand for parking spaces.

An updated 10-year parking strategy was the focus of an Olympia City Council study session Tuesday night. Next month, the city will seek bids for a parking study and will select a consultant in July. The cost for the parking study is estimated at $100,000, said Keith Stahley, director of Community Planning and Development.

While the consultant collects parking data, the city will conduct a downtown parking survey online.

City officials also hope the consultant can identify options and costs for building a public parking garage, for example, or suggest changes to parking enforcement and technology. Other possible solutions include raising meter fees, establishing partnerships with private lot owners, and installing more signs that direct drivers to parking.

The updated plan will consider long-term urban density goals such as making downtown Olympia more accessible for bicyclists and pedestrians.

“This is kind of a turning point for the city’s role in public parking,” City Manager Steve Hall said.

Some council members said they want input from as many people in the community as possible during this process.

“I really hope we can have some real involvement with our constituents,” said Councilwoman Jeannine Roe, who wants feedback from people beyond the business community and local government insiders. “We need to pull in people from our community who we desperately want to come downtown.”

As for downtown’s public parking inventory, the city reports that it has 2,268 metered spaces and manages seven parking lots with 364 total spaces. In 2016, the city expects to generate about $520,000 in parking fines and penalties along with about $1 million in other parking revenue, according to the operating budget.

The city’s parking spaces are managed separately from the state Capitol Campus, which has about 5,900 parking spots available, according to the state Department of Enterprise Services.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 4:02 PM with the headline "Downtown Olympia faces ‘turning point’ for public parking."