Turlock conducts survey on downtown parking needs

Turlock is conducting a survey and will hold a community meeting May 9 to discuss ways to improve parking downtown.

The city wants to know what folks would be willing to pay to park and how far they would walk to avoid feeding the meter. The survey also asks if people would use a nearby parking structure, should the city build one.

The meeting will bring together that information, as well as counts of how many existing downtown spaces are full, and for how long, gathered by consultants.

“It’s an opportunity for members of the public to hear what the survey found and the data from the parking count,” said Senior Planner Katie Quintero, who is spearheading the project. “It’s to give us an understanding of what the situation is downtown.”

Downtown now has no meters, but it does have time limits to give prime spots to customers, Quintero said.

“At City Hall, for example, along the side of the building, we have some 24-minute spots so people can run in and pay a water bill, vs. having employees parking there all day,” she said.

The area being studied takes an expansive view of downtown, reaching from Canal Drive on the north to Fifth and C streets on the south. Its eastern boundary travels Minaret Avenue, jutting out to meet East Main Street and Canal at one end and angling down D Street at the other. Its western edge follows Geer Road to Golden State Boulevard, loops out to include the Public Safety Center on Broadway, then travels down Lander Avenue.

In another planning project, Turlock is looking for ways to ease the traffic flow from Highway 99 down West Main to a growing list of dining, art and retail establishments downtown. The parking project aims to make it easier for those drivers to park and stay – and spend – awhile.

Unlike the strip malls along Geer with parking in front, or the restaurant-rimmed shopping center parking lots of Countryside Drive, Turlock’s downtown parking is in out-of-sight spaces behind the shops and eateries.

Its shop-lined walkways distinguish Turlock’s historic commercial hub, but on-street parking fills quickly, and few signs stand ready to point newcomers to the hopscotch lineup of free city lots to the rear.

The parking survey and information from community meetings will help shape the long-range downtown parking plan being prepared by TJKM Transportation Consultants for the city. The consultant collected parking data to analyze demand and will use growth projections to estimate future parking needs.

“Community input is critical as we prepare this parking plan,” Mayor Gary Soiseth said. “Our downtown continues to thrive, but we need to make sure parking issues don’t limit this success or become a constraint on future growth.”

The TJKM plan will recommend options for parking time restrictions, metering or lot pricing, permit programs, signage, new parking facilities and financing.

This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 9:06 PM with the headline "Turlock conducts survey on downtown parking needs."