Asheboro parking study seeks public input

ASHEBORO — The City of Asheboro is seeking public input for its parking study and has posted a survey on its website. The link is https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QF5JVHP and is estimated to take about 12 minutes to complete.

A Spanish-language survey is available at tnuttall@ci.asheboro.nc.us. 

The cutoff date for all surveys is Jan. 13.

The item on the city’s website says: “The City of Asheboro is working with Walker Consultants, a leader in helping municipalities manage parking infrastructure, to develop a strategic parking management plan for the downtown business district. The plan, once complete, will provide recommendations for managing and improving public parking availability to support a vibrant downtown.”

A Nov. 27 article in Randolph Hub noted, “Jim Corbett, director of planning and operations services for Walker Consultants, said parking improvements are like a triangle, and every city has to choose one corner. They can usually touch two sides of the triangle, at the expense of whatever is on the third side. Those three sides are: Availability, Convenience and Affordability.

“Corbett said that currently, Asheboro parking most closely offers convenience — relative proximity to the restaurants and retail — and affordability by being free, but it lacks availability. There are not enough parking spaces to accommodate all downtown visitors.”

Walker Consultants received approval by the Asheboro City Council in September to carry out the parking study. The firm has, according to the Hub story, “monitored day-to-day parking in lots and street-side by walking around the district and flying drones to take snapshots every hour. They found that the Farmers Market and the Bicentennial Park lots are the most likely to fill, while the Church Street parking lot to the south of the Farmers Market is rarely full. Corbett said it is possible that drivers do not recognize it is public parking due to poor signage or location.

“Corbett said these sessions are part of the first phase of a four-part process:

- Phase 1: Analysis and Evaluation of Existing Conditions.

- Phase 2: Evaluation of Future Parking Needs.

- Phase 3: Identification of Recommendations and Priorities.

- Phase 4: Final Report.”

A series of public information sessions and presentations took place on Nov. 19 and 20 at the Randolph Senior Adults Association Resource and Education Center. At that time, the public was invited to review a list of enhancements, including additional parking spaces, 15-minute parking spots for customers who only need to grab something from a local shop, green spaces, curb cuts for pedestrians and bike lanes.

The city website goes on to say: “The parking study will consider feedback from the … public survey. The input in this survey will inform recommendations for future parking improvements, downtown planning and development strategies, and other innovative parking and mobility solutions to help manage growth and development in and around downtown Asheboro. 

Walker Consultants plans to present recommendations to the city in the first half of 2025. Then the City Council will decide how to proceed.

Anyone who spends time in downtown Asheboro is welcome to take the survey. Now is the time to make your voice heard.