Charlottesville City Council unanimously supported an investigation into the creation of a park-and-ride service Monday night, in an effort to alleviate Downtown Mall parking woes.
The proposed service would give residents visiting the Downtown Mall an alternative to parking downtown, Council member Satyendra Huja said, adding that users would be able to park at an off-site location and then be shuttled to the downtown area.
Mayor David Norris cited a recent study that showed that more than 30 percent of cars parked in the Downtown Mall’s two-hour on-street parking spots belonged to employees working in the Downtown Mall. The study also found that of the cars parked in these spots, 20 percent remained in the spots for more than two hours.
To avoid parking tickets, employees and other residents are currently forced to move their cars throughout the day in what is jokingly referred to the “two-hour shuffle,” Norris said. He expressed hope that a park-and-ride would solve the current parking situation in the Downtown Mall, which he says places stress on drivers who work or visit downtown.
If a park-and-ride service was made available to local residents, then they would be “much more productive and pleased,” Norris added.
Colette Hall, president of the North Downtown Residence Association, also said she supported the investigation, noting that a park-and-ride service would allow more parking spaces for customers visiting the Downtown Mall. As a resident of the downtown area, she also said she fears that customers unable to find on-street parking for the Downtown Mall will park in residential areas, unless changes are made to the current parking situation.
“We don’t want to see the overflow parking from customers parking on our streets,” she said, noting that she hopes Council’s plan will ease such concerns.
In addition to increased parking for customers, Norris added that he was also in favor of the park-and-ride service because it would eliminate the need for an additional parking garage, which he said would be “extremely expensive.”
Hall agreed with Norris, saying it would be costly both for city residents to use a parking garage and for the City to construct it.
The park-and-ride service currently is in its planning stages, Assistant City Traffic Engineer Donovan Branche said. Branche said officials are currently investigating locations, costs and time frames for the project.
Norris said a pilot program will take place before the park-and-ride is established. Feedback from employees who work in the Downtown Mall and from other residents will be taken into account before a permanent service is put in place.
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