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Omaha DID produces a study that looks at ways to maximize downtown parking

Joe Gudenrath, Executive Director for Omaha’s Downtown Improvement District, says downtown parking has been an issue for residents, visitors and business owners for a number of years.  

A little over a year ago, the DID decided to conduct a study of the current public parking system. 

Gudenrath says it examines the current parking conditions to see how the city can better maximize use of the existing parking assets.

"The number one thing it pointed out is that we have an underutilization of our current parking assets meaning out of our current public parking inventory, on any given day or the evenings, we are around 45-55% occupied.  This means there is an abundance of available public parking within downtown Omaha.”

Gudenrath says specific study recommendations include the consolidation of current parking management, increases or decreases in hourly rates for on-street parking to achieve occupancy goals, and relaxing or eliminating time restrictions to reduce parking anxiety. 

The full report is available online at omahadowntown.org.