Everett Downtown Parking

Barney & Worth is teamed with Rick Williams Consulting for an in-depth look at on-street and off-street parking in Everett’s CBD. Development pressure in the downtown, along with new housing, new visitor attractions and business vitality are creating demand for parking. Paid on-street parking is being weighed as a solution. The current project will update Barney & Worth’s team’s earlier comprehensive exploration of downtown parking issues in Everett, assessing parking conditions and customer demand throughout the downtown core, as well as recommending parking system changes that best meet the City’s needs. The consultant team also advised the City on joint development and shared operations of a hotel parking structure (now under construction). Among public outreach and customer survey efforts, the consultant team conducted two well attended workshops and a “Parking 101” forum which provided stakeholders with important background information on parking issues and elicited input on solutions. The result was consensus amount stakeholder and City policymakers that the best solution was implementing a uniform two-hour time limit for on-street parking and increasing enforcement – rather than converting to paid parking.

Barney & Worth worked with the City of Bend, Oregon, on a study to revisit and analyze parking management strategies and strategic pricing for its downtown. A key driver for the study was the pending construction of a new City-owned parking structure in the downtown. The City’s goal was to complete its comprehensive review of downtown parking in preparation for opening the new garage.

The consultants employed several public involvement methods and tools – including committees, stakeholder interviews, public workshops, project website, web survey, public meetings and information materials – to invite full community participation, earn broad-based consensus and support, and produce lasting solutions. The new parking plan was implemented in conjunction with the successful opening of the Centennial Parking Plaza.

Barney & Worth led customer education and outreach for the introduction of state-of-art electronic pay stations – or SmartMeters – to replace traditional coin-operated parking meters in downtown Portland, Oregon. To introduce the pay stations, the firm formed strategic partnerships with downtown businesses, parking staff and local news media. Public outreach efforts included surveys and focus groups, rollout strategy and schedule, identity and message development, targeted outreach to downtown businesses, and materials tailored to parking customers.

The SmartMeter Public Education & Outreach marketing campaign won an Award of Excellence from the Portland Metro Chapter Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Barney & Worth, in partnership with Rick Williams Consulting, completed the development of a comprehensive parking management plan for two areas of Salem’s downtown.  Plans were made for the “core retail zone” and the State Capitol Mall.  The study was based on an extensive utilization/capacity and turnover study of nearly 10,000 on- and off-street parking stalls. The work involved extensive public outreach, meetings with leadership groups, and lengthy work sessions with City Council and City staff.  The full plan was unanimously adopted by the Salem City Council.

“Barney & Worth and Rick Williams Consulting prepared a comprehensive project plan and executed the plan on time and within budget.  The process and materials were, at all times, professional and of a high standard.  Their work provided the data that defined the problem, and the public involvement helped share the guiding principles and strategies.”

– Tony Mounts, Administrative Services Director/CFO, City of Salem

Barney & Worth and Rick Williams Consulting are assisting the City of Tacoma to evaluate the best system for paid parking in the downtown area.  The consultants are working with the City staff and an Implementation Committee on an extensive outreach effort to reach key stakeholders including business operators, neighborhood leaders, residents and employers.  Stakeholder input is helping to identify issues and determine the parking management strategies and equipment choices.

Clark Worth and Rick Williams are also contributing to refinement of the financial model and revenue estimates, planning and implementing the system rollout, and advising the City throughout the multi-phase implementation process.

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