Public invited to talk about parking
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on June 2, 2016 1:46 PM
Preliminary results of a downtown traffic and parking study will be presented to the public next Thursday, June 9, at City Hall.
A 5 p.m. meeting, which includes public input and participation, will be held in the City Hall annex conference room.
The $80,000 study was launched in March by the city under contract with VHB Engineering N.C., in Raleigh, in an effort to determine existing parking availability and to forecast future demands, said Jennifer Collins, Goldsboro assistant planning director. City officials are interested in studying the needs for future planning purposes.
"(The purpose is to) study existing conditions and to forecast future demands of parking and traffic," Collins said. "The consultant will be on hand and will give a presentation and get feedback."
Some of the results of downtown parking counts, including high volume times, will be presented from the draft report, which could be completed in about a month.
"It should be done by the end of June, if not the beginning of July," Collins said.
The meeting June 9 will allow public input, which will be considered as part of the study, said Timothy Tresohlavy, a VHB transportation planner and project manager. Tresohlavy has been working with a VHB team and the process has included participation of city staff, business owners and downtown organization leaders.
The meeting will include background on the project, what consultants have seen in regard to parking counts, possible management strategies, stakeholder input and will follow with public participation.
"We went out in the downtown area and counted cars at different periods of the day," Tresohlavy said.
Several stations will be set up in the conference room where consultants will ask questions and receive feedback from people individually. The public will be asked to rank and prioritize parking needs, Tresohlavy said.
Study results are already showing downtown areas of congestion and surplus in an area of the city that is experiencing growth, a trend expected to continue in future years, he said.
After the meeting, consultants plan to create an online study that will allow public input for two weeks.
"A lot of what we're going to say Thursday will be on the survey," Tresohlavy said.
Once the study is complete, it will be reviewed and considered for adoption by the Transportation Advisory Committee and Goldsboro City Council, Collins said. The N.C. Department of Transportation is sharing the cost of the study, with DOT paying $64,000 and the city $16,000.
The 19 intersections being evaluated are:
* 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.