HUDSON — Hudson residents provided input on downtown parking and learned about the upcoming parking study at a public forum on May 24.
The parking study is the first in nine years.
The forum was hosted by the Internal Traffic Committee. According to Director of Planning and Community Development Kristina Johnson, the goal of the forum was to have a “constructive conversation about how we can best serve all users of public parking downtown.”
Since the last study, Hudson’s downtown area has changed significantly for the better in terms of thriving businesses, Johnson said. Downtown has become busy since 2014, she said.
“We are a destination,” she said.
The committee is consulting with VHB, a transportation engineering firm based out of Watertown, on the study. Johnson said it would include input from business owners and people who live and work downtown. Town officials from the Department of Public Works, fire department and police department will also be interviewed to get an understanding of how parking works and is enforced and how the downtown is maintained.
The consultants are being funded through a grant, and they are collecting data on parking, including when and how often lots and spaces are being used to “help us make some informed decisions,” Johnson said.
Director of Transportation Planning for VHB Rob Nagi said the firm studied the parking usage in an area that covers the Hudson Public Library, senior center, South Street and Tower Street.
VHB Project Manager Bill Cranshaw shared some data it collected on May 11. The data indicated that the lots behind Horseshoe Pub and Medusa Brewing Company were used most frequently while the library lot and Avidia lot on South Street were not as utilized. Cranshaw attributed this to the library lot being a “hard lot to find.”
As part of their feedback, some of the residents expressed confusion about where people could legally park. Others said they didn’t know about the parking map on the town website. One long-term suggestion was to have a live count of available parking spots that could be accessed through a posted QR code, similar to those found at a parking garage.
When asked about their parking habits, the attendees said they considered the purpose of their trip – such as going out to eat or going to a hair appointment – when it came to parking. If they were going to be longer than two hours, they looked for a lot with a longer time limit, the residents said.
Next steps of the parking study
Johnson said the aim of the study was to come up with a list of short-term recommendations regarding regulations or signage to be implemented in about two or three years and long-term recommendations on improvements or expansions of the parking assets that would require capital investment.
Although VHB will conduct the study, she said, it will be “up to the town to prioritize short-term and longer term improvements.”
Any change that applies to regulations or signage would have to go through the Internal Traffic Committee.
Johnson added, “This is not the end of the conversation.”
The committee will make recommendations to the Select Board, which has the ultimate decision on what will be done.
Johnson said the next steps are to have detailed roundtable discussions to figure out what the downtown restaurants need for parking.
“This study is really going to focus on some real regulatory changes that we may need to support the downtown,” Johnson said.
The town has launched a parking survey, which can be found at https://tinyurl.com/yc3223vs.
RELATED CONTENT
Hudson downtown parking study slated to be completed by end of the year
