Specific Proposals Circulation & Parking

  1. Provide a system of well-designed and user-friendly pedestrian walkways linking areas of activities with parking areas. Ensure that pedestrian circulation is segregated from vehicular circulation
  2. Reduce the psychological barrier of Main Street by defining pedestrian areas with textured crosswalks and a central boulevard in the retail core from Washington to College Streets
  3. Ensure safety in parking areas by appropriate lighting and safe accesses
  4. Strengthen the directional signage to city parking lots from all parts of downtown
  5. To the maximum extent possible, preserve on-street parking along Main Street
  6. Improve access to downtown from Wesleyan University, Middlesex Hospital and other nodes in the city by improving pedestrian links
  7. Currently the Parking Authority manages public parking in the downtown. In the past the Authority has shown insensitivity to the needs of downtown shoppers. To correct this situation downtown merchants should represent a majority of the Parking Authority membership
  8. Maintain the practice of 2 hours of free parking in municipal lots
  9. Reinstate the practice of courtesy parking tickets thanking shoppers for coming downtown and reminding them the next ticket will include a fine
  10. Eventually, transfer the Parking Authority operations to the Special Services District. In this way the Authority will have a vested interest in the downtown
  11. Discourage employees and employers from parking on Main Street. These spaces must be reserved for high turnover patron parking. Require employers and employees to register with the Authority and receive a parking assignment in one of the more distant lots at very attractive rates
  12. If an enforceable procedure which limits parking to less than one hour can be established, consider the removal of the parking meters along Main Street
  13. Implement a payment in lieu of parking arrangement for new development
  14. As development proceeds, increase parking at the Broad and Washington Street lot by adding a single deck, carefully designed to limit its mass
  15. Eventually, as demand dictates, expand the Riverview Center parking arcade