Marion study: New approaches can address most Uptown parking issues

There are some parking concerns in Uptown Marion, based largely in specific areas and at certain peak times.

But the problem may be more a matter of perception and communication than reality, and for the time being, many of the issues can be adequately addressed through better utilization of existing parking supply and forging new partnerships with private businesses and organizations.

That’s the essential conclusion of a Uptown parking study commissioned by the city of Marion and conducted by HKGi, a Minneapolis-based consultant specializing in planning, landscape design and urban design.

The 42-page report was reviewed by the city council and HKGi urban planner Kevin Clarke during a May 7 council work session.

The report acknowledged that recent growth in Uptown Marion has created more parking demand, but even after numerous parking counts conducted during the winter of 2023 and 2024 as part of the study, during both weekday and weekends and at times including 9 a.m., noon and 5 p.m., “there was still an adequate parking supply across Uptown.”

“Some of the public parking lots at the district’s core reached capacity,” the study said, “but in every case, parking was available within a block of the full lots.”

As the Uptown district continues to grow, the report notes, “the challenge then becomes how to provide enough parking to ensure people coming to Uptown are not turned away or burdened to the point that they will not return, while also maintaining the dense, walkable, main street character that differentiates Uptown from other areas in Marion and the greater Cedar Rapids area.”

Uptown Marion provides a total of 1,362 parking spaces, owned either by the city or by private business owners, according to the report. Still, many visitors and community residents believe they’re unable to find adequate parking options in the area, particularly at times of peak demand.

Parking problems in any community typically result from one of two issues, according to the study – too few parking spaces or inefficient use of existing spaces.

“Marion’s parking issues appear to stem more from the second scenario (inefficient use) than the first (not enough parking),” the report indicates.

The study’s goals were to help identify ways to provide safe and adequate parking options in a walkable environment, to utilize existing parking and private parking as much as possible, and to encourage alternative approaches such as bicycle parking, drop-off options, shuttles and public transit.

The study also includes a list of strategies to be considered in various time frames for dealing with parking issues, including:

• Ongoing – Continue to monitor utilization of existing parking, establish parking and trip generation plans for businesses, establish parking management strategies for events and create a walkable environment “so you only have to park once.”
• Short-term – Consolidate parking lots through shared-parking agreements with private businesses, identify and designate parking lots for employees of Uptown businesses, explore parking restrictions for short-term users and identify areas for electric vehicle (EV) parking stations.
• Mid-term – Create a parking/improvement district, reconfigure existing lots to add capacity, consider zoning code revisions to ensure adequate future parking supply and create parking enforcement laws.
• Long-term – Identify the need and location for district-wide parking locations and determine their size, and consider implementing a phased approach to paid parking where any revenue is redirected to the study area for managing parking or other Uptown investments.

However, the study warns, “if the city is going to implement time restrictions and paid parking, there should be some level of enforcement. It does not take regular parking users very long to start ignoring the rules when they figure out that the rules are not being enforced. Enforcement may be on an active basis (dedicated enforcement) or on a reported basis where existing public safety officers respond to complaints of improper/extended parking.”

One of the recommended approaches to increase parking utilization include establishing a wayfinding system, using vehicular and pedestrian signage to guide visitors to under-utilized parking options. While not the “front-door” parking some Uptown visitors have come to expect, most of the available spots would be within walking distance of the main Uptown Marion business district – two to four blocks on average.

Another approach would comprise establishing public-private shared parking partnerships through a “Partners in Parking” program that would more fully utilize private parking areas after hours or on weekends. A few such partnerships are already in place through formal and informal channels, but several concerns have already arisen, ranging from availability and timing to maintenance and liability.

“The City and Uptown Marion Main Street have started efforts to clarify and address some of these concerns through the Partners in Parking program, but these have not yet been formalized,” the report indicates.

Other options were also considered, including the construction of new surface parking spots, establishment of a Downtown Development Authority (DDA) that would oversee parking and other infrastructure development, and even a possible new parking ramp.

However, city officials said construction of a ramp would be economically unfeasible, given a projected cost of $14,000 per parking space.

“At this point, a parking structure is not needed in the Uptown Marion district, but in the long term, it may be justified,” the report said. “If this is the case, a parking/improvement district should be the operator of the structure.”

Council member Grant Harper asked if any of the parking surveys were conducted during high-demand events, such as a farmers market or the Marion Arts Festival.

“Our thought process on that is that those are kind of ‘one-off’ events,” Mr. Clarke said. “People understand that if (they’re) coming to that (event), there’s a lot of other people that are going to be coming. It doesn’t make sense from an uptown (perspective) to try to accommodate all of that parking right at the core.”

Council member Steve Jensen, who has expressed concerns about Uptown parking capacity for several years, said he wasn’t as concerned with meeting parking demand during such “one-off” events.

“I think as I look forward, this entire Uptown area is going to be changing a lot in the next couple of years,” he said, citing the Belltower Lofts redevelopment project at the former Marion Methodist Church, the potential redevelopment of the former Marion Public Library site and the ongoing development of the Broad and Main on Sixth mixed-use project.

https://corridorbusiness.com/marion-council-approves-belltower-lofts-plan-but-parking-concerns-raised/

“As those things change, I think it's certainly imperative that we're able to take what we have today, keep in touch with what's there and model that on a going forward basis,” he said. “This is great to have, and how we use it is even more imperative than what we have in our hands today.”

Council member Gage Miskimen asked how any changes in parking policy would be communicated to the public, and city manager Ryan Waller responded that updates would be included in the “Project in Motion” document and strategic plan, as well as the weekly “In Focus” email newsletter and quarterly Marion Messenger print publication.

Mr. Waller also noted that the city’s parking plans will continue to evolve as new information is received. “This process isn’t going to stop here,” he said. “We’ll continue to work on the plan.”

Mr. Jensen added that he believes that private businesses will need to help lead the way on parking plan development, particularly with the ongoing establishment of “Partners in Parking” agreements as more businesses and housing move into the Uptown district.

“I think getting these shared agreements is one of the quickest, most immediate ways to prioritize how we control some of that parking right out of the gate,” he said. “Private businesses are the ones that need to drive that, although I think the city can still play a role in coming to the table and reinforcing the need for that. As I see this going forward, as more of these larger places come on board – everybody knows I’ve got a concern about the parking when Bell Tower apartments opens up and what impact that will have – we need to be making some changes to some of the parking in the Uptown area, as to when it's available (and) when it's not.”