During a work session of the Chapel Hill Town Council last week, Mayor Pam Hemminger and council members reviewed their options for expanding parking facilities in the downtown area in the future.

A study by Walker Consultants, commissioned by the town and presented to the council, showed that several downtown areas experienced full or near-full occupancy. In the downtown blocks east of Columbia Street, the study found instances where 83 percent of parking spots were occupied. Parking west of Columbia fared slightly better, with 68 percent of spots occupied.

Mayor Pam Hemminger spoke to WCHL’s Aaron Keck last week about the discussion surrounding the future of parking.

“We love our transit system, it does an amazing job, but we haven’t built any new parking downtown or added to our inventory in a very, very long time, over 10 years. We have taken over managing of some existing private spaces, so it looks like we have more, but we did not actually create any more.”

The council considered several options. A presentation from town staff reviewed plans to build an extra layer to the Wallace Parking Deck on East Rosemary Street, adding 100 new spaces. The project, which would include maintenance repairs to the structure, would cost around $2.4 million.

But adding parking downtown doesn’t have to mean more construction. Town officials are also looking for ways to use existing parking more efficiently, Hemminger said.

“We didn’t let you know where it was; we had all these tow-away signs,” the mayor said. “We’ve changed the story. While we haven’t been able to add as much capacity, we have changed the philosophy. We’re making it easier to find.”

The town started using parking ambassadors to help drivers find parking. Hemminger also recommended the Parkmobile app, which lets you know when and where parking is available. The free app for smartphones also lets you pay for parking spots through your device.

Plans for the Wallace Deck additions will move forward soon. Town officials will make an official recommendation for the deck’s repairs and construction to the Council in late February or early March.

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