How often do you travel to Downtown Albuquerque — and when you do — is parking an issue?
In many U.S. cities, finding convenient parking in downtown corridors can be a chore. Drivers negotiate location, price and sometimes report safety issues — whether it’s poor street lighting or the prospect of navigating a dark and cavernous parking garage.
To cut down on such issues, many cities have launched initiatives to make their downtowns more pedestrian and transit-friendly, offering a work-live-play atmosphere that keeps people from dealing with daily parking problems.
Albuquerque’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency (MRA) has released a survey with 16 parking-related questions for residents and visitors. They want to know how often you travel Downtown and by what method you got there — personal car, rideshare, public transit — and after you arrived, did you go to a restaurant or bar? Do some shopping? Attend a concert or go to a museum?
The questions then drill down to the parking experience. Officials ask how easy or difficult it was to find parking and whether cost or time was the biggest factor in choosing a spot.
One of the questions is related to safety concerns when parking, or walking between a parking spot and Downtown destination. Officials want to know if poor lighting, lack of security patrols or cameras, or risk of vehicle damage or personal safety plays into parking choices.
The MRA said the study is intended to assess Downtown’s current parking conditions and “explore opportunities to enhance parking while supporting Downtown businesses and the needs of everyone who lives, works or visits.” The feedback, officials said, will help the city “create a more accessible, dynamic and thriving Downtown.”
The study is being done in partnership with Albuquerque’s Pland Collaborative and Toole Design — headquartered in Silver Springs, Maryland. Survey teams are expected to conduct on-site parking assessments throughout Downtown as part of the initiative.
Click here to take the survey. For more information, contact MRA project manager China Faire Osborn at cosborn@cabq.gov.
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