Great Falls parking commission continues review
A clear vision and mission is the top characteristic of an effective parking program, according to a national parking consulting firm, and the Great Falls Parking Advisory Commission spent Monday afternoon developing one.
It’s still a work in progress, but so far, part of it is borrowed from the downtown master plan and states that the parking program exists to “enhance the downtown experience for customers, residents and stakeholders.”
PAC developing framework for finding parking solutions
The PAC has developed a flexible framework for what they and other need to explore before developing solutions for the parking program, which is down about $10,000 per month in revenue since Asurion departed from downtown.
“It’s easy for us to get ahead of ourselves,” said Dave Campbell, a downtown business owner and PAC member.
In working to develop their master plan some PAC members said they would need to go back to the City Commission for guidance on what direction they wanted downtown to go as it relates to parking.
Parking group looking at downtown Great Falls challenges
Craig Raymond, city planning director, said that the city already has multiple plans that address that including the downtown master plan, the downtown access, circulation and streetscape plan, among others.
The commission will meet again in two weeks to further polish their mission statement before moving on to establishing costs and revenue streams, reviewing past parking studies and surveys, reviewing best practices in similar downtowns and identifying parking improvements.
Mayor Bob Kelly tasked the PAC with developing a roadmap to finding solutions for parking and reporting back on that roadmap during a March commission meeting.