As Hillsborough continues to grow and plan for the future, the local government is asking for feedback on where people prefer to park their vehicles downtown and near some of its attractions.
The town launched a new parking study at the start of April as the latest step in its staff’s efforts to develop a long-term parking management strategy to consider alongside planning initiatives and projects. Hillsborough last conducted a parking study in 2010, but the subsequent growth and development in the area led it to want to reassess community members’ parking habits and what spaces are available. The re-striping of some on-street parking and removal of other spaces because of widened sidewalks also factors into the updated evaluation.
Hillsborough Mayor Mark Bell told 97.9 The Hill the project has been in the works for more than a year, but the town wanted to wait until this time of year to launch the survey and begin collecting traffic reports.
“This is the right season to assess — in the spring — where people are parking,” Bell said, “because in the fall and winter, there aren’t as many people visiting shops, there aren’t as many tourists visiting Hillsborough. If you want to get the true measure of who is measuring and where, for how long and why…spring is the time to do that.”
“We’re looking at what solutions for parking we have now, what do we need,” the mayor added. “Should there be paid parking, should it be free parking, on-street parking, parking decks? [Town staff are] just kind of inventorying what the need is.”
To help gather data, the town is asking residents and visitors alike to share their experiences and preferences in a survey and interactive map. The survey asks questions about how often one visits the study area — downtown Hillsborough and West Hillsborough around the Eno River Mill and South Nash Street — and why they make the parking choices they do. It also asks for details on whether one prefers to get around the area on a bicycle or by walking compared to a vehicle, and one’s satisfaction level with the bike infrastructure.
The interactive map, meanwhile, allows for respondents to show exactly where on an aerial display of Hillsborough they live, prefer to park and frequent on their visits. The method is to help town staff best identify areas to improve the accessibility and visibility of parking options in addition to informing their future parking strategies.
An aerial map of Hillsborough and the town’s study areas for its 2025 parking study, which are marked in yellow. (Photo via the Town of Hillsborough.)
Beyond online options to share feedback, Hillsborough is also planning to hold pop-up booths for the parking study on Thursday, May 29 and Friday, May 30 in downtown Hillsborough.
“Tell us where you park, and how long you park and things like that,” Bell said, “so we can get more first-hand experience on what the parking needs are for parking.”
The timeline of the study, according to the town, will stretch to this fall. After completing the public outreach, all the traffic data, survey responses and feedback will be analyzed over the summer before being presented to the Hillsborough Board of Commissioners during a meeting in August as a draft version of the study. The final parking study will then be adopted by the town in September.
Hillsborough’s survey for the 2025 parking study can be taken here, while the interactive parking map can be used here. More details about the parking study effort can be found on the town’s website.
Featured photo via Visit Hillsborough NC.
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