City hires consulting firm for downtown parking study 

Last edited 1:30 p.m., March 2, 2023

A Tampa, Florida-based consulting firm has been hired by the city of Springfield to help conduct a downtown parking study.

In addition to utilizing the work of Walker Consultants, the city also is asking residents to take a public survey that's available through March 20, according to a news release.

Walker Consultants is being paid $205,000 for its services, according to a city spokesperson.

Walker Consultants has been retained to assess existing public and private parking within the study area, bordered roughly by National Avenue on the east, Grant Avenue on the west, Elm Street on the south and Phelps Street on the north, according to the release. Walker Consultants plans to study how parking is used throughout various seasons, times of the week and times of day, and the firm will review existing parking regulations, operating policies and procedures, and enforcement practices.

The firm is tasked with providing recommendations to the city with its findings.

The public survey seeks property owner and stakeholder input on improvements and planning, as well as development strategies.

“So far, representatives with Walker Consultants have completed field study observations and have also met with various business owners and stakeholders to help inform the strategy for the study,” said Grady Porter, Springfield Public Works traffic engineer, in the release.

“We’re excited to kick off the public input phase of this project to begin gathering feedback from a wide variety of parking users who live, work and play downtown.”