Located in the heart of Williamsburg, Merchants Square is a retail destination for Historic Triangle residents and visitors alike.
With dozens of businesses, ranging from cuisine to fine jewelry, the Historic Area relies on tourists and residents to drive the city’s economy. But despite year-round activity, some area business owners agree one downtown factor in particular has hurt business: Parking.
Now, the city has a plan in place to change parking throughout Williamsburg before June 2018, and some downtown business owners have said it will be good for business.
The Williamsburg Yorktown Daily attempted to contact eight business owners and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Three business owners and the foundation responded to the requests.
Adam Steely, co-owner of the Blue Talon Bistro on Prince George Street, said he’s confident the first phase of the parking plan will benefit the community by freeing up parking spaces and changing “perceptions” of a parking shortage.
Steely is also a member of the Williamsburg Economic Development Authority.
“I don’t know how it could not help business for everyone,” Steely said of the parking plan. “It’s good for all of us.”
The city is already in the process of implementing the parking plan’s first stage: increase enforcement and help motorists find the right parking.
The parking changes have been more than 20 years in the making, according to the city’s website.
In 1995, the city released a downtown parking study, which took a look at the future needs of businesses, tourists, and residents alike. Twenty-one years later, the city commissioned a parking study to take a fresh look at the city’s parking needs.
There are three phases of the plan, but the city has said it will only implement the second and third stage as needed, the City of Williamsburg previously said in a news release.
By June 2018, sensors will be installed on parking spots throughout the downtown area to gain more data on where residents and tourists park and for how long.
The Williamsburg Police Department has also hired three parking enforcement officers to serve as enforcers and “ambassadors” of city parking regulations. The new hires are currently in training and will expand the force to four people, according to Maj. Don Janderup.
Bob Singley, owner of commercial realty and development firm RJS and Associates, said he’ll be glad to see recommendations of the parking study be implemented in the city.
Singley said he’s seen “numerous” examples of flagrant illegal parking near Merchants Square, but “the real adept [motorists] are the ones that come back to check if there car has been marked.”
When a vehicle is “chalked” by parking enforcement officers, it is a sign the vehicle has been noticed by officers for the first time in the parking spot.
“The city should enforce their parking regulations as far as limiting the amount of stay of a car in a space based on what it’s posted as,” Singley said. “ I think by not enforcing that, it does adversely affect retailers who are dependent upon their customers…to shop in those stores.”
Stages two and three focus less on gathering data and enforcing parking regulations, and more on changing pricing structures for parking downtown.
The second stage of the parking plan would flip the current parking plan from charging money for inconvenient spots to charging money for convenient spots, while making less convenient spots free, the release said.
The third stage would use data provided by the parking sensors to institute “dynamic pricing” of parking spots. The peak-hour pricing model could cause parking spots to become more expensive as demand for parking increases.
In the end, any changes in the structure of paying-to-park will be made by the Williamsburg City Council, the release stated.
For Billy Scruggs, owner of Retro’s Good Eats and the Fife and Drum Inn, change is necessary, but he’s cautious about what is changed.
“I know that something has to be done,” Scruggs said. “I think they [the City has] given the local business people plenty of opportunity for input over the last two to three years.
Scruggs said he’s holding off on a final opinion of the city’s parking plan until the changes take effect.
“As far as the parking goes, I guess I’m waiting for the dust to settle,” he said.
WYDaily archives were used in this story.
