The city of Dayton is evaluating its parking system to identify possible improvements as a hot housing market and new investments have propelled more people to visit, live and work downtown.
Parking problems can lead to negative perceptions of the center city, and many people have complained about overzealous ticketing and unpleasant experiences with meter enforcement downtown.
Wednesday, data from a recent downtown parking survey of 1,687 people revealed the following:
- Nearly half the respondents who live and work downtown say parking enforcement is unreasonable
- The same number and 6 in 10 business owners say parking enforcement is inconsistent
- Downtown has an adequate supply of parking spaces
- Some downtown garages have physical issues
- Respondents say they want some free or low-cost parking options
- Some question the logic of 75-minute time limits on meters
Dayton can make parking more convenient and customer friendly by modifying its fining policies, adding mobile payment options and changing the organizational structure, time limits and other regulations, said Andrew Miller, project manager and senior planner with Carl Walker Inc., a full-service parking consultant agency in Michigan.
“There are some pretty universal feelings that enforcement is overzealous,” he said.
Earlier Wednesday evening, Miller gave a presentation to Dayton commissioners about the city’s parking system, how citizens feel about it and how it compares to other similar communities across the Midwest. The presentation focused primarily on street parking, especially metered spaces.
Miller suggested eliminating time limits on some spaces but increasing the charges for every additional hour. Miller also recommended issuing warnings instead of fines for first-time offenders.
He also said it could be beneficial to make parking fines escalate for subsequent offenses.
