More St. Charles downtown parking possible through commercial spots shared with city

St. Charles city officials heard a presentation detailing the findings of a downtown parking study at a Jan. 16 Government Operations Committee meeting.

St. Charles City Council members approved a contract for the study in June last year with Desman Inc. to conduct a downtown parking study to provide city council members with feedback and insight on the current parking environment and recommend changes to improve the parking experience for visitors and residents.

Economic development director Derek Conley presented the initial findings of the parking study to the Government Operations Committee at their Jan. 16 meeting. He told committee members that the study by Desman Inc. provided the city with downtown parking inventory, occupancy data, conditions, public comments (survey feedback), and recommendations for future developments.

The draft of the downtown parking study is now available for the public to review on the City’s website, and residents are encouraged to provide feedback through a brief online survey or by attending an open house meeting on Jan. 23 from 4 to 6 p.m. at City Hall. The draft, survey, and open house information can be found on the city’s website.

An interactive map of the current downtown parking inventory is available here.

According to the study, there are 2,071 city-owned parking spaces in downtown St. Charles, 1,421 of which are on the west side of the river and 650 are on the east side. On weekends, about 80% of downtown parking spaces are occupied, which is close to what Desman Inc. considers practical capacity (85%).

Conley also detailed the firm’s assessment of the parking space conditions in St. Charles. The study noted that the city does not charge for parking, nor does it strictly enforce parking time restrictions. The study also cited inadequate and unclear way-finding signage.

One of study’s suggestions for future improvements was to install a sign in the city’s parking garage that shows the number of cars currently parked on each level of the garage to motorists before they enter. Conley also reported that there are roughly 450 downtown parking spaces not owned by the city, which could be shared with the city for public parking at certain hours.

Conley said they plan to keep the next survey open for multiple weeks to collect as much community feedback as possible before drafting a plan to address parking concerns.

After the survey closes, the next steps will be for Desman Inc. to provide recommendations and propose initiatives to address each issue identified. A draft of the Implementation Plan will be presented to City Council prior to adoption.

Conley said once the plan is adopted, the city will begin implementing the first phases later this year.

For more information contract Derek Conley at dconley@stcharlesil.gov.