The issue of parking for residents, businesses and visitors tends to recur when new or more intensive uses are proposed in downtown, usually new restaurants.Residents are concerned that they cannot park near their homes in the evening.Business owners worry that patrons will not find nearby parking when their businesses are open.
Because no recent and thorough parking study has been conducted that accounts for parking location, peak times and duration, it is difficult to know the extent and urgency of parking constraints downtown.Opinion surveys conducted over the last decade indicate that the public perceives that downtown parking problems continue or have worsened.An inventory of public parking in April 2009 suggests that downtown has extensive parking, but much of it (62%) is located off-street.
Addressing the disconnection between public perceptions and the parking inventory is the substance of the Downtown Parking Planning effort.An additional consideration is that downtown currently has a number of parcels with redevelopment potential.Adaptive reuse of these properties is encouraged, but their potential impact on downtown parking should be anticipated and planned.
Planning Phases
In October 2009, Town Council approved proceeding with Phase 1 of the Parking Plan. The following activities are included in Phase 1:
Phase 1: Creating clarity in the streetscape
a. Action: Creation of a distinctive sign program for public parking 1. Removal of sign clutter 2. Design new public parking signage 3. Design new parking maps for website 4. Print parking maps for key pedestrian areas.
b. Action: Monitor and control usage of municipal parking lots
c. Action: Mark on-street parking.
Parking Inventory (April 2009)
April 2009 Downtown Parking Inventory Areas
Area Surveyed Downtown Warren, as defined by the parking inventory, is approximately 1 mile by ½ mile running from Campbell street on the South to the Bridge in the North and the Water on the West to Cutler Street on the East.
Parking Spaces Assessed The inventory report includes the total on-street and off-street (non-gated) parking existing in this region. Much of the off-street parking is on private property. Where possible, each off-street parking facility is identified by both address and name. Many of the off-street parking facilities are un-marked and as such, general assumptions were made regarding likely parking patterns as a way of determining the approximate parking available on site. The parking space dimensions used in determining the number of available spaces, as taken from the Town of Warren Zoning by-law, is 9 feet wide by 18 feet long.
The total number of on-street and off-street parking in downtown Warren is 2,671 spaces, 45 of which are designated as handicapped spaces. The report includes a detailed breakdown of each area including the number of on-street parking spaces by block and the number of off-street parking spaces by individual lot. All parking counts have a corresponding field identifying the available handicapped spaces. Also included in the report are digital photos of each off-street parking facility, corresponding to the detailed spreadsheet. A regional map and maps of each individual Map region are included. These maps show the streets and off-street parking facilities accounted for in each region. The maps are drawn using the Town parcels layer and road names to assist with orientation all on a backdrop of the State’s digital orthophotography.
Warren Town Hall: 514 Main Street, Warren, Rhode Island 02885
Town Clerk: 401-245-7340 / Town Treasurer's Office: 401-245-7341 / Tax Assessor: 245-7342 / Building-Zoning-Planning: 401-245-7343
Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Parking is located on Main Street and behind Town Hall.
