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Downtown Naperville parking satisfaction drops as shoppers perceive 'hassle'

Satisfaction with downtown parking in Naperville is at its lowest point in 15 years, according to a report recently released to downtown advisory commission members.

Satisfaction decreased to 50 percent in a study conducted Friday and Saturday July 24 and 25, 2015 - a drop of 11 percentage points from the 61 percent satisfaction reported in the previous study in 2012. The half-satisfied result is also the lowest since the city began parking studies in 2001.

The decrease is "significant," downtown leaders say, and it shows actions must be taken to improve parking management and availability in the city's commercial center.

"It's about helping businesses stay busy and have lots of people come in," said Nicki Anderson, president and CEO of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, which is headquartered downtown.

Peak and average parking occupancy rates both increased from 2012, showing the downtown's stock of spaces is being used more fully than in the past, said Jennifer Louden, deputy director of the transportation, engineering and development department.

Louden said peak parking occupancy during the two-day study last summer was recorded at 8 p.m. Friday, with 88 percent of the area's roughly 3,500 spots filled. That recording topped the previous peak occupancy of 82 percent in 2012.

Average occupancy across 10 hours of the study was 78 percent last summer, up from 68 percent in 2012.

And Louden said only 35 percent of visitors answered that they expected to find parking within five minutes, which indicates another problem with downtown parking: perceived inconvenience.

"It's the key barrier to people coming here is their perception of the hassle that they're not going to get a place to park," said Katie Wood, executive director of Downtown Naperville Alliance, which markets the shopping and dining area.

Downtown advisory commission members Thursday reviewed recommendations from the transportation, engineering and development department to improve management of existing parking spots and plan for future construction to create more.

The study says anticipated demand within the next five years will require between 375 and 500 new spaces - on top of the 520 being constructed as part of the Water Street hospitality district, which is expected to be complete sometime this fall.

The recommendations call for "evaluating financing and site options for expansion of the downtown parking supply."

One effort to increase downtown parking was delayed late last year when the city cut $4.3 million that had been set aside for land acquisition to expand the central parking facility on Chicago Avenue. Louden said the facility has about 530 spots, but if it were rebuilt, it could hold about 1,000.

Other parking recommendations include improving enforcement of time limits, adjusting the downtown employee program so workers are not using prime spots that could be taken by customers, assisting with development of a parking app for smartphones to list available spots in real time, and creating more partnerships with private owners of reserved spots.

The city also plans to conduct another study in 2017, once the new garage at the Water Street District has opened.

But for now, the downtown advisory commission will continue consideration of the 2015 study at a meeting in March before sending it to the city council.

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