Goldsboro City Council awards contract for $80,000 parking study
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on March 10, 2016 1:46 PM
An $80,000 parking and traffic study that will be conducted on the downtown area of Goldsboro will soon get under way after the Goldsboro City Council approved its consent agenda Monday night, effectively awarding the contract for the study to VHB of Raleigh.
According to city data, the study is meant to identify existing parking, detail development opportunities, determine whether or not there are areas downtown where there is insufficient parking and determine if areas exist where future developments would have inadequate parking, which would hinder future investment in the downtown area.
VHB of Raleigh was selected by a committee consisting of Assistant City Manager Randy Guthrie, Downtown Goldsboro Development Corp. Director Julie Metz, Assistant Planning Director Jennifer Collins, city Traffic Engineer Bobby Croom and NCDOT Transportation Engineer II Dominique Boyd. The North Carolina Department of Transportation will fund 80 percent of the cost of the contract and pay $64,000 for the study. The remaining $16,000 will be paid by the city.
According to the contract between VHB of Raleigh and the city, the study must be completed by June 30.
There are 19 intersections the study will analyze and create data for:
* Ash Street, where it intersects with Center Street, George Street, James Street, John Street and William Street.
* Mulberry Street, where it intersects with Center Street, James Street, John Street and William Street.
* Walnut Street, where it intersects with Center Street, James Street, John Street and William Street.
* Chestnut Street, where it intersects with Center Street, George Street, John Street and William Street.
* Elm Street, where it intersects with George Street, and John Street.
Traffic data for every intersection listed in the study, except for intersections on Center Street, has already been created by the city in traffic studies performed in 2012 and 2014.
Therefore, VHB of Raleigh will only be creating data for where Center Street intersects with Ash Street, Chestnut Street, Mulberry Street and Walnut Street. The company will rely on city data for the rest of the intersections.
VHB of Raleigh will be responsible for creating concept sketches, opinions on probable construction costs and reports of potential impacts for up to five intersections in the downtown study.
The company will also create an inventory of existing parking conditions in the downtown area -- consisting of both on and off street parking -- and observe and record the number of vehicles parked within the study area during a typical weekday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
The study area is estimated to be 38 blocks, consisting of 125 lots and 3,400 parking spaces.