HomeMy WebLinkAbout5 - Downtown Parking Study Report1 | P a g e
To: Planning Commission
From: Grady Timmerman, Community Development Intern
Date: September 13, 2021
Item: Downtown Parking Analysis of Existing Conditions
COMMISSION ACTION REQUESTED
Staff will present an analysis of existing Downtown Parking conditions at the meeting for review
and discussion.
BACKGROUND
Purpose
The parking analysis was conducted to determine the following:
o An updated inventory of available public and private parking.
o Parking usage during various time periods and days of the week.
o Areas of higher concentration of use.
o Recent development’s effect on parking utilization.
o Changes in utilization and to the study area since the last downtown parking study was
conducted in 2017.
Study Area
The study area encompasses 20 blocks bounded to the north by the Mississippi River, to the east
by the Canadian Pacific Railroad, to the south by 5th Street, and to the west by Eddy Street.
Please see Figure 1: Study Area for further information.
Zoning
Within the Study area most commercial, residential, and mixed occupancy buildings are zoned
either C-3 (Community Regional Commerce), or DC (Downtown Core). Most single-family
residential areas are zoned R-2 (Single Family Residential). Higher density residential areas
are zoned R-4 (High Density Residence) and RMU (Residential Mixed Use). Please see Figure
2 for specific zoning classifications.
Planning Commission
Memorandum
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History
A similar parking study was conducted by Community Development Director, John Hinzman, in
2017. The study concluded that parking appeared to be available within Downtown Hastings
during normal and peak periods and that despite providing less parking spaces than would
normally be required, utilization of downtown parking has not been maximized. It was also
concluded that the conversion of existing structures into restaurants, bars, and taverns can be
achieved without putting an inordinate strain on existing parking.
EXISTING CONDITIONS
Parking Supply
There are 1,500 parking spaces within the Study Area including both on and off-
street parking, but excluding residential driveway parking. The public parking
supply is 1,069 spaces with 431 private parking spaces. The existing parking
supply is depicted on Figure 3.
Existing Land Use
The study area includes a variety of land uses common to a historic downtown
including residential, retail, service, restaurants, office, warehousing, and industrial.
Uses are often mixed within the same building. Many buildings do not have
dedicated off street parking facilities, but rely upon on street parking and public
parking lots to meet customer needs.
The area contains approximately 332,221 s.f. of commercial space and 292
residential housing units. Pending or future projects including the Confluence
redevelopment of Hudson Manufacturing and Luke Siewert’s and Stencil Group’s
proposed apartment buildings have been excluded from this analysis. Specific land
uses are as follows:
Downtown Land Use
Office & Events 98,444 s.f.
Retail & Service 91,213 s.f.
Restaurant & Bar 59,588 s.f.
Warehouse 82,976 s.f.
Industrial 6,314 s.f.
Residential 292 Housing Units
Figure 4 provides a block by block breakdown of land uses and intensity per block.
PARKING UTILIZATION
Methodology
Parking occupancy was surveyed 18 times between June 8th and August 29th to determine
utilization. Surveys were conducted during various hours and days of the week as follows:
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Time Period Number of Surveys Average Parking
Weekday – 12pm – 5pm 11 486
Weekday – after 5pm 4 527
Weekends – after 12pm 3 420
Overall Parking Utilization
Figure 5 identifies the average parking utilization during all surveys conducted. Overall
parking utilization provides a basis for determining instances of higher demand of certain
parking areas. Areas exceeding 50% parking utilization included:
o Electronic Dental Services
o Parking Lot Under TH 61 Bridge
o Main Downtown Parking Lot – North of 2nd Street between Sibley and Ramsey
o Block 3 Alleyway
o Sibley North of 2nd Street
o 2nd Street between Vermillion & Ramsey
o US Post Office
o Sibley between 2nd & 3rd Street
o 3rd Street between Sibley & Ramsey
Weekdays 12pm-5pm
Parking utilization was found to be the second highest Monday through Friday between 12pm
and 5pm (Figure 6). Higher concentrations of parking were found in the following areas:
o City Hall Parking Lot
o Electronic Dental Services
o 4th Street between Vermillion and Sibley
o 3rd Street between Vermillion and Sibley
o 2nd Street between Vermillion and Ramsey
o Tyler – 2nd Street to 1st Street
o Red Rock Parking Lot – Block 16
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Weekdays after 5pm
Parking utilization increases after 5pm on weekdays and is also when parking utilization was
found to be the highest (Figure 7). Higher concentrations of parking were found in the following
areas:
o Main Downtown Parking Lot – North of 2nd Street between Sibley and Ramsey
o Parking Lot Under TH 61 Bridge
o Sibley – North of 2nd Street to 3rd Street
o East Side of Vermillion – 2nd Street to 3rd Street
o Police and City Vehicle Parking Lot
o US Post Office
Weekends
Overall parking utilization on weekends is comparable to weekday evenings (Figure 8), but
with different areas of concentrations including:
o American Legion
o Block 19 Interior & Alley
o Parking Lot Located at the Northwest Corner of 3rd & Tyler Street
o 3rd Street between Sibley & Ramsey
o Spiral Pizza
Utilization of Popular Downtown Parking Areas
Parking utilization of the most popular downtown parking areas are as follows:
Parking Area # of
spaces
Maximum
Utilization
Average
M-F 12-5
Average
M-F after 5pm
Average
Weekend
2nd Street between Vermillion & Sibley 20 20 15 16 19
Sibley Street between 2nd & 3rd 18 18 12 16 11
Main Downtown Parking Lot – North of
2nd between Sibley & Ramsey
95 92 62 77 53
Parking Lot Under TH 61 Bridge 43 43 20 38 38
Sibley Street North of 2nd Street 7 8 4 6 5
City Hall Parking Lot 62 56 43 30 21
2nd Street between Sibley & Ramsey 35 34 18 25 18
3rd Street between Sibley & Ramsey 18 14 9 11 10
Tyler Street between 2nd & 1st 24 24 12 13 9
ANALYSIS
2017 versus 2021
From 2017 to 2021, the existing parking supply increased from 1,378 to 1,500 available
parking spaces. 1,069 of those parking spaces are public and 431 are private. That is an
increase of 84 public parking spaces and 38 private parking spaces. Average parking
utilization for all times and days of the week surveyed in 2021 was 31.3% or 469.5 spaces.
Compare that to 2017 which saw an average utilization rate of 28.9% and 398.6 spaces. That
equates to about a 17.8% increase during that 4-year time period. The data also found an
increase in the number of areas that exceeded the 75% utilization threshold. This is especially
true in the 4-block area bounded to the west by Highway 61, to the south by 3rd Street, to the
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east by Ramsey Street, and to the north by Levee Park. With as many as five locations within
that area surpassing the threshold compared to only one in 2017. The highest utilized category
also switched from weekdays 9am to 5pm in 2017 to weekdays after 5pm in 2021.
Effects of Recent Developments
Since the study conducted in 2017, a parking ramp has been constructed, parklets have been
installed, Artspace Lofts was completed, Levee park improvements were made, and Confluence
continued its redevelopment of Hudson Manufacturing. All of which have had an impact on
downtown’s parking supply, demand, and utilization. For example, the installation of parklets
on East 2nd Street and Sibley Street reduced the number of usable on street parking spaces
from 30 to 20 and 9 to 7 respectively. While the addition of parklets on East 2nd Street and
Sibley Street has been observed to have put an increased strain on East 2nd Street (Vermillion
to Ramsey) and the surrounding area, the newly constructed parking ramp has the capacity to
accommodate both the loss of on street parking and the areas found to have exceeded the
75% threshold. All while only being a couple blocks away. The ramp is currently underutilized
with an average of 18 spaces reported out of the 122 spaces available. This is expected to
change however with the completion of the Confluence redevelopment.
The newly constructed Artspace Lofts’ impact on downtown’s parking demand and utilization
was analyzed and was found to have a minimal effect on the surrounding area as it provided
on-site parking for its tenants. Its data however could be applied to future development projects
currently being proposed within the study area. Overall, it was found that Artspace Lofts only
utilized 42% of its parking spaces or an average of 25 parking spaces out of the 58 it has
available. This is an important finding for developments looking for a variance to the Downtown
Core’s requirement of providing two parking spaces per dwelling unit.
City of Hastings Downtown Parking Study
Figure 1: Study Area
City of Hastings Downtown Parking Study
Figure 2: Zoning
Zoning Districts
C-3
DC
I-1
R-2
RMU
R-4
City of Hastings Downtown Parking Study
Figure 3: Existing Parking Supply
12 62
8
122
3 8
15
16
22
8 13
13
3
41
15
14
14
20
7
48
30
16 16
14
12 10 14 16 8
10
16
11
23
8
27
43
13 25 17
18
18
5
108
6 14
18 15
17
9
58
100
20
40
Total Parking: 1,500 Spaces
Private Parking: 1,069 Spaces
Public Parking: 431 Spaces
19
16 11
10
16
24 30
19 12
21
7
6
35 36
7
14
City of Hastings Downtown Parking Study
Figure 4: Land Use
Land Use
Restaurant & Bar
Residential
Retail & Service
Warehouse
Office & Event
Industrial
City of Hastings Downtown Parking Study
Figure 5: Overall Parking Utilization
12 62
8
122
3 8
15
16
22
8 13
13
3
41
15
14
14
20
7
48
30
16 16
14
12 10 14 16 8
10
16
11
23
8
27
43
13 25 17
18
18
5
108
6 14
18 15
17
9
58
100
20
40
Utilization of Parking Spaces
0-25% Utilization
25-50% Utilization
50-75% Utilization
75-100% Utilization
19
16 11
10
16
24 30
19 12
21
7
6
35 36
7
14
City of Hastings Downtown Parking Study
Figure 6: Parking Utilization (Weekdays Between 12pm and 5pm)
12 62
8
122
3 8
15
16
22
8 13
13
3
41
15
14
14
20
7
48
30
16 16
14
12 10 14 16 8
10
16
11
23
8
27
43
13 25 17
18
18
5
108
6 14
18 15
17
9
58
100
20
40
Utilization of Parking Spaces
0-25% Utilization
25-50% Utilization
50-75% Utilization
75-100% Utilization
19
16 11
10
16
24 30
19 12
21
7
6
35 36
7
14
City of Hastings Downtown Parking Study
Figure 7: Parking Utilization (Weekdays After 5pm)
12 62
8
122
3 8
15
16
22
8 13
13
3
41
15
14
14
20
7
48
30
16 16
14
12 10 14 16 8
10
16
11
23
8
27
43
13 25 17
18
18
5
108
6
14
18 15
17
9
58
100
20
40
Utilization of Parking Spaces
0-25% Utilization
25-50% Utilization
50-75% Utilization
75-100% Utilization
19
16 11
10
16
24 30
19 12
21
7
6
35 36
7
14
City of Hastings Downtown Parking Study
Figure 8: Weekend Parking Utilization
12 62
8
122
3 8
15
16
22
8 13
13
3
41
15
14
14
20
7
48
30
16 16
14
12 10 14 16 8
10
16
11
23
8
27
43
13 25 17
18
18
5
108
6 14
18 15
17
9
58
100
20
40
Utilization of Parking Spaces
0-25% Utilization
25-50% Utilization
50-75% Utilization
75-100% Utilization
19
16 11
10
16
24 30
19 12
21
7
6
35 36
7
14