City of Washington Central Business District Parking Study
City of Washington Central Business District Parking Study
City of Washington, PA
A major effort is underway in the City of Washington to redevelop its Central Business District (CBD). Several local partners have come together to work towards this revitalization including The City of Washington, The Washington Business District Authority, Washington and Jefferson College, and the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington.
The Washington Business District Authority "Main Street" Program began in 2002 with the purpose of improving infrastructure and street amenities in a 14-block area. The Redevelopment Authority is taking the lead in the most recent effort by carrying out the creation of a Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) District.
Local stakeholder Millcraft Industries is spearheading the redevelopment efforts within the TIF through its Crossroads Development. The first phase of development includes a 140,000 sq. ft. building which will base office, educational and retail space. Future phases of the development will also include additional retail space, loft apartments, a hotel, and a bank.
In an effort to plan for the future demands on public parking and city streets within the Washington CBD, the Redevelopment Authority retained TA along with sub-consultant Walker Parking Consultants.
TA prepared a comprehensive parking and traffic study to assess the existing parking and traffic demands within the Washington CBD, and the future parking and traffic demands generated by the new development.
The purpose of the parking study was to propose daily and monthly fees for on-street and off-street parking, and to prepare an operating budget reflecting the size and cost of the new facility within the TIF area. Based upon the results of the parking study, the future demand showed that the CBD could support a new parking garage up to 1,067 spaces. The purpose of the traffic study was to analyze future traffic conditions through the year 2016 to identify any future deficiencies within the CBD. Several short–term and long-term traffic improvements were identified. The short-term improvements are to be implemented as part of the Crossroads project. These improvements primarily involve signal timing changes and lane re-striping at signalized intersection.
The TA team worked closely with key stakeholders, and prepared a final report in December 2005.
(05/06)
