Over 50 percent of the respondents to a recent Homewood Star survey think that the downtown Homewood area needs additional parking. The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham presented the results of a downtown parking study they recently performed at the city council's planning and development meeting on June 5.
The RPC's conclusion was that the downtown area has sufficient parking spaces across public and private lots, but enforcement of time limits on parking and increased awareness of less-used lots would help create more capacity
According to our survey, 57 people out of the 103 total respondents felt that downtown needs additional parking. Thirty-one people answered "No," and 15 people said "No opinion." Lunchtime was by far voted as the most difficult time of day to find parking during both weekends and weekdays, although weekdays were significantly more difficult, with 95 out of the 103 responses being lunchtime. Weekends had 57 out of 99 responses as lunchtime and then 29 responses as mid-afternoon.
Almost one-third of the people that took the survey said they use the downtown parking lots usually twice a week, with another third answering that they use the parking lots a couple times a month, with "Eating out" being the typical reason, followed by "Shopping," then "Working," then "Meeting friends."
Forty-eight out of 104 respondents said it is "usually" difficult to find a parking space, followed by 30 people answering "sometimes" and 14 answering "rarely."
Some of the respondents also added their own thoughts on the situation:
"Parking is tricky at times. I only see it getting worse as more businesses open and the area becomes more popular," one respondent said.
"As a business owner, I hear from customers all the time that they avoid coming to my business sometimes because they know parking can be a nightmare. Parking is easily the top concern for all downtown Homewood business owners. The city of Homewood loses tax revenue because many people skip coming to downtown because they don't want to fight the parking," another said.
On the other hand, some respondents felt that parking wasn't a problem if they're willing to walk a greater distance.
"Even during the busiest times I have always found a parking spot. I am thankful that the crowded parking means that Homewood businesses are thriving. The lots behind Cahaba Cycle and Homewood Toy are rarely full. The same is true for the parking deck under Zoe's. There is additional parking if people would use it and walk a few extra feet," one person said.
"People are in and out often and spots come available quickly if there isn't one your first time circling around. It's a great place to walk if you do park further from where you're going. There's always parking under Soho and that's close to everything. No extra spaces needed. The appeal is the walkability," another respondent said.
According to the survey, the preferred place to park was by far 18th Street, with 50 people out of 104 people choosing it over the other options, which included the city surface parking lot, the underground parking garage, private parking lots and other areas such as their houses.
Some respondents shared their thoughts on why certain lots were less desirable to park in.
"I think the parking lot behind Cahaba Cycles on Linden Ave is underutilized. I believe the reason it is underutilized is the fact that the lot is very tough to navigate. The spaces are too close together and the lot is very unsightly. It needs some landscaping and attractive lights. Right now it looks like a concrete field. My wife won't park there because she thinks it is run down and not safe," one respondent said.
"No one is interested in underground garage parking. It's dark, creepy and too far away from shops. Need more above-ground spaces," another person said.
A few people also echoed the RPC's conclusion that drivers aren't always aware of the parking options available, particularly underground spots that are out of sight.
Opinions were extremely split about the Regional Planning Commission's conclusions from their parking study, that there are enough parking spaces to handle demand but the city needs better enforcement of rules. Read about the rest of the RPC's presentation here.
As a final note, The Homewood Star survey asked respondents what options they thought would help improve downtown parking availability. Over half of the respondents, or 61 out of 104 people, chose "Asking downtown employees not to park in public lots/heavily used lots," and 51 respondents chose "More signs to direct people to available lots." Thirty-six people chose "Ticketing and time limit enforcement," and 34 people chose "Building more parking areas."
