Downtown Parking Ambassador pilot project deemed a success, to return next year

Did you notice a difference in parking congestion in downtown Huntsville this summer? If you did, that may be due in part to the presence of Huntsville’s new downtown parking ambassador.

The seasonal position was created as a pilot project in an attempt to alleviate some of the downtown’s parking woes by directing people who couldn’t find parking and ticketing those who stayed too long or parked in no parking zones. The parking ambassador also provided on-the-street tourism information to visitors to the area.

If the number of tickets issued are any indication, the project can be labelled a success, at least in terms of educating people about the need to watch where they park and for how long.

From June to the beginning of September, 372 parking tickets were issued for a total of $4,125 in fines.

It will come as no surprise to people who try to park downtown during those months that the majority of the infractions occurred on Dara Howell Way and in the River Mill Park parking lot.

The staff report noted these parking ticket highlights:

• 80 per cent of the tickets were issued between noon and 5:00 p.m. (The parking ambassador worked from mid-June to early September, Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
• 162 tickets were issued for parking in a prohibited area like a signed No Parking area, a loading zone or a fire route. Of those, 138 were on Dara Howell Way.
• 60 tickets were issued for parking in excess of the two-hour time limit. Only three of those were on Main Street – most were in the Royal Bank parking lot, the River Mill Park lot and on High Street.
• 55 tickets were issued for parking outside a designated space, and five for parking on the sidewalk.
• 10 tickets were issued for parking in a designated accessible parking space, but eight of those were voided after an accessible parking permit was produced that hadn’t been displayed.

At its October 25 meeting, Huntsville’s General Committee directed Town staff to investigate options to address some observations noted by the parking ambassador, including faded parking lines, lack of direction for visitors driving large recreational vehicles, driver confusion that Dara Howell Way is not a through street, and confusion about parking near Huntsville Public School because ‘School Bus Only’ signs aren’t removed in the summer.

The report also included results of an informal survey conducted with 93 randomly selected people that found 78 per cent were visitors to Huntsville, 77 per cent were downtown to shop, 90 per cent planned to be there less than three hours, and 46 per cent chose their parking spot because it was the first available. Seventy-three per cent of those asked weren’t aware of other places to park.

Results of an informal parking survey conducted by the Downtown Parking Ambassador last summer

Committee agreed to include the position in the Town’s 2018 Draft Operating Budget at a cost of $7,300. Should it be approved in budget deliberations, that amount will be offset by revenue from fines – although Derrick Hammond, Director of Development Services, noted that there “could be a drop in revenue related to fines because a pattern of behavior has been established with respect to parking in that area”. The Downtown Huntsville BIA will again contribute $2,000 toward the position.

Related stories:

Peter Redwood to serve as bylaw enforcement officer for the downtown

Summer attendant to help enforce downtown parking, be tourism ambassador

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