Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1005599
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JULY 18-24, 2018 UCW 11 e city of Fayetteville has begun collecting data and seeking public opinions during a downtown park- ing study. Input is being collected through stakeholder committee meetings, public forum opportuni- ties and an electronic survey. e survey is available online at www. surveymonkey.com/r/Parking_ Fayetteville. e parking study will evaluate current and future parking de- mands, especially those prompted by baseball games at the new Hay Street stadium. Regulations and performance comparisons to other cities in North Carolina will also be considered. e city received a revitalization and economic development grant to conduct the downtown parking study. At this point, city officials believe there are enough existing and planned future parking spaces downtown to accommodate baseball fans. Officials believe 1,500 to 2,000 additional vehicles will go downtown for a typical ballgame. One question is whether the city is running a risk of expecting some people to walk three or four blocks to the stadium. City traffic engineer Lee Jernigan said that is not the case, and that parking studies should confirm that. Park and ride opportunities are a possibility, said Jernigan. "FAST or a private company could provide mini-bus shuttle service," he added. at's another one of the things the parking study may determine as to need. Currently, on-street parking restrictions vary from two to three hours, but they only apply during business hours, Jernigan noted. e city doesn't use parking meters, but parking enforcement officers patrol the downtown area. Finding a parking spot for a ballgame will be on a first-come, first-served ba- sis. Downtown parking lots should fill up rapidly, at least those owned by the city. ey include the Airborne & Spe- cial Operations Museum and Festival Park lots, among others. Owners of private lots near the stadium have not yet been asked by the city to make them available after business hours, according to Jerni- gan. Limited spaces at the parking garage, which is now under construc- tion next to the train station, will be for disabled and handicapped park- ing. Most of those spaces will be for tenants of the new hotel and Prince Charles apartments. Chances are that city-operated parking lots and the Franklin Street parking deck will be paid parking for special events. Jernigan noted that during the recent Dogwood Festival, people did not object to paying fees. He said motorists will also be charged parking fees during the upcoming International Folk Festival in the fall. "is is a dynamic process for us, which will be tweaked as we go," he said. City officials hope the parking study will be ready for review by the end of the year. e new stadium is scheduled to open for ballgames by April 2019. Downtown baseball stadium parking a work in progress by JEFF THOMPSON NEWS City officials believe there are enough existing and planned future parking spaces down- town to accommodate baseball fans. M A G A Z I N E b y , f o r & a b o u t Fayeeville Women