Is there enough parking in Carlsbad Village? Studies say… yes! The problem, however, is that no one can find it.
During last year's peak summer season, Urban Place conducted parking counts and license plate turnover studies in the Village. This is something we do for other commercial districts and downtowns. Every hour from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., we counted the number of cars parked in the free public lots and the number of cars parked on the core streets of the Village. We also noted the license plate numbers of each car parked on key streets every hour. The result is a comprehensive look at how parking is used, or not used, in the Village during a very busy season.
The hot spots
Not surprisingly, State Street between Carlsbad Village Drive and Grand Avenue is, on average, about 95 percent occupied, but not all with customers. Almost 30 percent of the cars there are parked for more than 3 hours and, in most cases, belong to business owners or employees who are parking in those prime spaces all day long.
On average, the public parking lot at Roosevelt Street and Carlsbad Village Drive is 88 percent occupied. This is one of the most visible public lots in the Village, as is the lot behind the fountain at State Street and Grand Avenue, which is at 86 percent average occupancy.
Two other hot spots for on-street parking are the blocks of Roosevelt Street south (84 percent) and north (78 percent) of Carlsbad Village Drive.
The hidden gems
Of the 39 spaces at the public parking lot at Washington Street and Oak Avenue, only 36 percent are occupied on an average weekday, and 73 percent on weekends.
On-street parking is usually easy to find one or two blocks away from the "hub" of the Village, such as Grand Avenue east of Roosevelt Street, State Street north of Grand Avenue, and on Madison Street, where occupancies range from 40-70 percent.
The true hidden gem of the Village, however, is the 128-space parking lot on State Street just south of Carlsbad Village Drive, behind Fish House Vera Cruz and a half-block from the hub of State Street. Only 47 percent of those spaces are full on average, likely due to the fact that no signs exists at the State Street entrance.
Clearly, some parking areas are in high-demand, while others are grossly underutilized. How can we disperse parking more effectively? We need to encourage those who want to park once and stroll through the Village by foot to park their car a bit further away. That would leave the spaces on State Street, for instance, available to someone who wanted to run in to get a haircut, pick up a gift, or grab lunch and go. Here are some other ideas for improving access in the Village:
Point them in the right direction: We're working with the City's Transportation Department to install new parking wayfinding signs throughout the Village, with new large signs at the lots themselves.
Reach out and educate: We're publishing marketing material that reminds business owners, customers, and other visitors where they can park downtown and that encourages business owners and employees to leave the spaces in front of their business open for potential customers.
Change the mindset: People walk hundreds of yards from their cars to their destination in shopping malls. Why can't they do the same in the Village? Even better, there are shop windows to look into and people to watch here, as opposed to endless seas of parking to navigate.
Encourage alternatives:Before the summer season, the Transportation Department will install 80 additional bike racks and 6 new bike corrals, bringing the total to 142 bike racks in the Village. That's 284 parking spaces within mere feet of your destination!
Westman can be reached at [email protected].
During last year's peak summer season, Urban Place conducted parking counts and license plate turnover studies in the Village. This is something we do for other commercial districts and downtowns. Every hour from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., we counted the number of cars parked in the free public lots and the number of cars parked on the core streets of the Village. We also noted the license plate numbers of each car parked on key streets every hour. The result is a comprehensive look at how parking is used, or not used, in the Village during a very busy season.
The hot spots
Not surprisingly, State Street between Carlsbad Village Drive and Grand Avenue is, on average, about 95 percent occupied, but not all with customers. Almost 30 percent of the cars there are parked for more than 3 hours and, in most cases, belong to business owners or employees who are parking in those prime spaces all day long.
On average, the public parking lot at Roosevelt Street and Carlsbad Village Drive is 88 percent occupied. This is one of the most visible public lots in the Village, as is the lot behind the fountain at State Street and Grand Avenue, which is at 86 percent average occupancy.
Two other hot spots for on-street parking are the blocks of Roosevelt Street south (84 percent) and north (78 percent) of Carlsbad Village Drive.
The hidden gems
Of the 39 spaces at the public parking lot at Washington Street and Oak Avenue, only 36 percent are occupied on an average weekday, and 73 percent on weekends.
On-street parking is usually easy to find one or two blocks away from the "hub" of the Village, such as Grand Avenue east of Roosevelt Street, State Street north of Grand Avenue, and on Madison Street, where occupancies range from 40-70 percent.
The true hidden gem of the Village, however, is the 128-space parking lot on State Street just south of Carlsbad Village Drive, behind Fish House Vera Cruz and a half-block from the hub of State Street. Only 47 percent of those spaces are full on average, likely due to the fact that no signs exists at the State Street entrance.
Clearly, some parking areas are in high-demand, while others are grossly underutilized. How can we disperse parking more effectively? We need to encourage those who want to park once and stroll through the Village by foot to park their car a bit further away. That would leave the spaces on State Street, for instance, available to someone who wanted to run in to get a haircut, pick up a gift, or grab lunch and go. Here are some other ideas for improving access in the Village:
Point them in the right direction: We're working with the City's Transportation Department to install new parking wayfinding signs throughout the Village, with new large signs at the lots themselves.
Reach out and educate: We're publishing marketing material that reminds business owners, customers, and other visitors where they can park downtown and that encourages business owners and employees to leave the spaces in front of their business open for potential customers.
Change the mindset: People walk hundreds of yards from their cars to their destination in shopping malls. Why can't they do the same in the Village? Even better, there are shop windows to look into and people to watch here, as opposed to endless seas of parking to navigate.
Encourage alternatives:Before the summer season, the Transportation Department will install 80 additional bike racks and 6 new bike corrals, bringing the total to 142 bike racks in the Village. That's 284 parking spaces within mere feet of your destination!
Westman can be reached at [email protected].