Parking Advisory Committee Meeting

PARKING ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING: There had been much discussion recently about whether Aiken should have a two hour parking limit in the downtown area. I am enclosing some information I received from Carla Cloud, Director of the Aiken Downtown Development Association. Please note the scheduled meeting of the Parking Advisory Committee which is being held in Council Chambers on Wednesday, February 3 at 5:30 PM.

With all the publicity concerning the 2-hour parking limit and ADDA’s involvement, we thought it might be beneficial to clarify the role ADDA plays in this issue. ADDA serves as a liaison between the Parking Advisory Committee and the City of Aiken.

1. The original decision to look at the parking issue several years ago was brought about at the request of businesses.
2. The City paid for a study to be done to discover the real parking issue. It was discovered that the main issue was employer/employee parking in prime parking spots.
3. The City requested ADDA’s help in forming a Parking Advisory Committee (PAC), which was one of the recommendations of the parking study report.
4. ADDA asked all individuals, members and non-members, that attended the parking study presentation to be a part of the committee. These people were informed, but we had no idea where they stood on the issue, so the request was not biased in any way.
5. The Parking Advisory Committee decided to go with the initial recommendations of the study as a starting point, knowing that they would continue to monitor the parking situation and make adjustments as needed.
6. As expected, there were some negative comments the first couple of months, but much less than anticipated.
7. As comments were/are made to the ADDA staff, they were/are documented and presented to the PAC. The PAC responds and action is taken accordingly.
8. At the request of two businesses, one an ADDA member and the other a non-member, an adjustment to the original area of enforcement was made. The median on Richland Avenue between Newberry and Laurens was changed to unlimited parking.
9. There has been relatively little discussion or comments given during the time the 2-hour limit has been imposed.
10. Prior to the 2008 Holiday season, a request was made to ADDA to lift the 2-hour limit for the holiday. That request was forwarded to the PAC, who decided since this was the first time the 2-hour limit was in place during the holiday, it should not be lifted and see what transpired. There were no comments or issues noted during or following the holiday season.
11. In November 2009, an ADDA board member brought the request to lift the 2-hour limit up at an ADDA Board meeting. After much discussion and due to it not being a unanimous decision, the board agreed to recommend to City Council the lifting of the 2-hour limit during the holiday season only. Also, due to time limitations, the request could not be filtered through the PAC. ADDA staff did an impromptu survey to verify that the majority of its members were in favor of this request and they were; therefore, the request was made to City Council and approved.
12. At the same November board meeting, another board member suggested that the overall 2-hour limit may need to be revisited. Three board members volunteered to attend the next PAC meeting to bring up this discussion.

I would like to reemphasize, ADDA is only a liaison between the PAC and City Council. The PAC is made up of business owners, both ADDA members and non-members and consumers. The ADDA does represent the voice of its members; however, all members do not agree, therefore, we must base our decisions and recommendation on the majority voice. That voice changes from time to time and ADDA has listened.

The next PAC meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 3 at 5:30 pm in the City Council Chambers. We have asked for this change of venue because we felt there may be lots of people who would like to share their concerns or ideas for the future. Please feel free to attend or send us your comments via e-mail for relay to the committee.

We should all appreciate Carla Cloud’s efforts to act as a coordinator on this project. If you are interested in this issue, please attend the meeting and voice your concerns and thoughts.