FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 21, 2015
Contact: Jennifer Kaulius
802.324.2505
Administration Releases Downtown Parking & Transportation Plan
Data-Driven Recommendations Will Improve Downtown Experience and Make System Efficient and Financially Sound;
Plan is the Product of Close Collaboration with the Burlington Business Association and 2+ Years of Public Outreach
Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger’s Administration has released the final draft of the Downtown Parking & Transportation Plan (the plan) and is seeking City Council adoption at its December 21 meeting tonight. The plan is the culmination of more than two years of work and represents a new attempt to approach downtown parking issues systematically and comprehensively. The plan builds on extensive public input and recent steps to improve customer experience, including parking meters that accept credit cards and a new pay-by-phone option.
“This effort will add to the dynamism of our downtown and make Burlington a better place to live, work, and visit,” said Mayor Weinberger. “The recommendations in the plan reflect careful and comprehensive analysis of the system and will make the parking system cleaner, safer, more usable, financially solvent, and supportive of bikers and walkers.”
Summary of goals and major recommendations
The goals of the downtown parking plan are to design a parking and transportation system that will:
- Deliver a consistently positive customer experience;
- Ensure the continued vitality of downtown Burlington; and
- Create a parking system which is fiscally sound and operationally efficient.
The plan’s topline recommendations include:
- Offer a range of parking options and price points that reflect demand;
- Employ new technology like Pay-by-Phone to improve customer experience;
- Complete parking garage capital improvements in phases – 2015-2017, with a focus on cleanliness and safety;
- Bring underutilized private parking lots and garages into the system for public use; and
- Promote active transportation modes – such as walking, bicycling, and public transit – via targeted and proactive education and outreach.
Plan created through partnership between DPW, CEDO, and BBA
The plan represents more than two years of close collaboration between the Department of Public Works (DPW), the Community & Economic Development Office (CEDO), and the Burlington Business Association (BBA).
“Every business knows how important it is to make a great first impression. Parking sets the first and last impression for nearly everyone who comes downtown,” said BBA President Kelly Devine. “This plan’s recommendations will create a great parking and transportation experience. It will be more convenient and pleasant to come downtown to shop, eat, play, do business, and visit. The report’s recommendations offer a change for the better for Burlington. Passage of the plan is a critical first step to continue to build upon the positive change we’ve seen over the past two years of planning work and pilot testing, and the business community looks forward to advancing this plan.”
“Following years of underinvestment that led to deteriorating infrastructure, the recommendations give Burlington a roadmap to complete $9 million of deferred capital repairs on the garages that will deliver a more welcoming, more customer-friendly experience,” said DPW Director Chapin Spencer. “In addition, this plan provides new tools for serving a range of downtown parking and mobility needs –discounted debit cards for part-time and low-wage workers, night-time leases for downtown residents, and discounted transit passes and secure bike parking for commuters.”
The plan was informed by extensive public outreach, including a fall 2013 Parking Summit attended by more than 200 people, and over 60 stakeholder meetings, including the Council-appointed Parking Advisory Committee (please see the attached letter from Parking Advisory Committee Chair Dan Bradley), members of the Burlington business community, the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, the DPW Commission, and other stakeholders, including:
- Downtown employees and employers
- Seniors
- Arts and culture organizations
- Faith community
- Bike and pedestrian community
- Accessibility Committee
- Police Commission
- City Council and the Transportation, Energy, Utilities Committee
- Neighborhood Planning Assemblies
- Church Street Marketplace Commission
Parking system reforms and good stewardship of City assets
A 2014 physical assessment of the City’s three downtown garages found the need for $9 million of investment over the next three years. The initial $1.6 million of Phase I repairs were started this fall and will be completed next summer. Phase II repairs are expected to begin mid-summer 2016. The proposed plan would enable responsible stewardship of the garages in the years to come. Recommendations in the plan that impact parking rates and City finances would still be subject to future review and approval with opportunity for public input.
The plan’s changes also include additional enhancements for other modes of transportation and are complemented by the recent completion of the City’s new “wayfinding” signs that make it easier to find available parking and other attractions across the City.
Please see the following attachments for additional information:
- Letter from Dan Bradley, Chair of the Parking Advisory Committee, to City Councilors dated December 14, 2015
- Memo from Chapin Spencer (DPW), Kelly Devine (BBA), Diana Colangelo (CEDO), and Desman Associates to City Councilors dated December 14, 2015
- Executive Summary of the Downtown Parking & Transportation Plan
- Public Engagement Summary of the Downtown Parking & Transportation Plan
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