Parking Utilization Study
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The Parking Utilization Study initiative was launched in 2022 to re-evaluate the City's public parking program and the Guiding Parking Principles for the Central Business District adopted by the City Council in 2012.
The City of Portsmouth issued an RFP and identified a qualified consulting firm to study the supply and demand for parking in downtown Portsmouth. The study is assessing and identifying current and alternative approaches to ensuring an adequate parking supply, inform future public investments and guide policy choices and zoning updates. See links to relevant documents, below.
The Parking Study Working Group, assisted by the chosen consultant Desman Design Management is currently evaluating the overall use of the City's parking resources to determine potential needs and parking programming to guide decisions in the future.
About the City of Portsmouth's Parking Program
- The City's Parking Program is designed to maintain the vitality of the City, providing residents, businesses and visitors with effective services.
- The Parking Program is implemented by a professional team that generates $10 million in revenues each year for the General Fund.
- Parking revenues helped reduce the burden on property taxpayers by $456 per household in FY25.
- The Guiding Parking Principles for the Central Business District are led by two overall principles:
- A balanced mix of retail/retaurant, office, and residential uses is key to downtown vitality.
- A downtown parking supply that is convenient, viable and central to downtown destinations is key to the short-term and long-term health of the City's retail, restaurant and office economy.