A downtown parking study commissioned by the Burlington City Council shows that parking issues in the downtown area really are not as bad as most people perceive them to be.
Zach James, a spokesperson for the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, spoke yesterday at a Burlington City Council Work Session. He said that having some parking problems are good.
“Parking problems, or at least the perception of a parking problem, is really a good thing to have, because that means there is a lot of activity and a lot of things going on [downtown],” said James.
But he also said that most of the “parking problems” in Burlington are a matter of perception, comparing the parking downtown with the parking lot at Westland Mall.
“Basically, from the edge of the parking lot at Westland Mall to the front of the movie theater, is the same as parking in the public garage on Washington and walking to the front of the Capital Theater,” said James. “It’s about two blocks.”
In the downtown area, James says, about 21% of the total land space is used for public parking. James said that one of the bigger problems is confusing or non-existent signage in the downtown area, making both parking and pedestrian movement more difficult.
Council members still expressed interest in creating more parking spots, especially if more residential development is to take place downtown.
