Public Parking at a Premium in Downtown Downers Grove

A preliminary parking report of downtown Downers Groves indicates parking is at a premium – something that is certainly not a revelation to residents.

Representatives of Rich and Associates, a parking consulting firm hired by the village for $45,000, presented preliminary findings of a survey of public parking in the downtown business district and surrounding areas during Wednesday night’s Transportation and Parking Commission meeting.

The parking consultants pinpointed several times and areas of downtown Downers Grove where public parking is at a premium. Public parking is defined as spaces that are available to users regardless of their destination. Private parking is defined as parking for a specific purpose.

There are 3,065 public parking spaces in downtown Downers Grove, which is about 53 percent of all available parking downtown. The early results of an online survey of Downers Grove residents revealed something that -- convenient public parking can be difficult to find in the downtown business district during peak hours.

Some key factors for that difficulty include the number of Metra commuters who utilize public parking, the number of employees in the downtown business community and shoppers. The survey revealed the top reasons for coming to downtown Downers Grove include shopping, dining, entertainment, work and use of the public library. However, the survey also revealed the public has a perception there is limited public parking in downtown which is the top reason they avoid the area.

During peak downtown hours, which occur in late morning, Burr said the bulk of the spaces, about 85 percent, are full.

“There may be parking available, but if 85 percent of the spots are full, the perception of the people is they have to search to find parking,” Burr said.

The downtown currently has one, public multi-level parking deck with 787 parking spaces, several surface parking lots and some on-street parking. Two floors of the downtown parking deck, 945 Curtiss St., are reserved for commuters. One floor is open to employees, while the ground floor offers free parking for less than four hours. Burr said the parking deck is well used, often achieving 90 percent capacity.

The village also has an agreement with Metra. Lots A and B are located on property but owned by the Burlington Northern, which requires the village to provide a specific number of commuter spaces. There are approximately 4,000 commuters who use the downtown Downers Grove Metra station daily, although not all of them leave a car in the downtown. The village could look into working out a parking space exchange with Metra, or to shift some of the express lines that flow into the village, but that would require the support of Metra, something board member Larry Gress said would be difficult to accomplish.

Richard Rich, executive director of parking for Rich and Associates, said in addition to parking issues, the village will need to address signage as well. He said there are different types of parking signs used across the village and some of the signs are hidden from view by trees or poor placement.

“We’re just in the first steps of our survey. Our recommendations will have to be flushed out,” Burr said. “This is a first look at the information to get your feedback.”

Burr said they are not ready to begin recommending solutions to the village. More information on the parking survey is likely to be revealed at next month’s board meeting.