October 2024 Update

On Thursday, Oct. 17, the town hosted a joint project open house to provide updates on both the Downtown Master Plan (Phase II) and the Downtown Parking Management Plan (DPMP). While Downtown Master Plan updates can be found here, the following DPMP updates were shared via brief presentation, audience Q&A and small group/individual conversation:

• Existing Conditions Assessment (Status: Complete)
  • Included a multi-day field assessment that evaluated the town’s parking assets in the 48-block Study Area.
  • The field assessment included: on-street and off-street public parking, signage/wayfinding, the pedestrian experience, bicycle infrastructure and accessibility considerations.
  • The full Infrastructure Assessment Report can be found here.

• Data Collection (Complete)
  • Parking utilization data was collected by License Plate Recognition and drone to demonstrate current parking conditions for all on-street block faces in the Study Area, eight (8) public off-street lots, 18 private off-street lots, and two (2) shared public and private use off-street lots.

• Data collection dates:
  • May 3, 4 and 8: Before school was released but before summer was in full swing. This collection is indicative of typical, non-event parking demand.
  • July 25-27: On a town special event day and over a typical summer weekend.
  • August 30 – September 2: Over the busiest event weekend of the year, Harvest Festival. Illustrative of peak demand.
• Key Data Takeaways:
  • Overall, occupancy in the Study Area is low; however, there are geographic and event-based hotspots around key downtown destinations.
  • On-street occupancy increases consistently during the late afternoon/early evening in the block-faces near the Windsor Mill.
  • Except for the noted geographic or event-based demand peaks, parking is typically available within a block or two of a desired destination.
  • On average, 71% parked for 0-2 hours which is within the good/adequate range for length of stay.
• Public Process / Stakeholder Engagement (75% Complete)
  • Activities completed to date include:
    • Presentations to the Town Board & Planning Commission.
    • Small group in-person and virtual focus groups with downtown residents, business and property owners and local developers.
    • “Knock and Talks” with fifteen (15) downtown businesses along Main Street.
    • Meeting with the Windsor Downtown Alliance (WDA) staff and board.
    • Joint Open House with the Downtown Master Plan.
    • Regular Project Connect updates.
  • Upcoming opportunities for public input:
    • Members of the community will have an opportunity to review/comment on the Plan’s recommendations in early 2025.

• Plan Vision & Guiding Principles (Complete)
  1. Vision: “To ensure a friendly and safe public parking experience for Windsor residents, its business community and visitors.”
  2. Guiding Principles:
     • Welcoming and accessible for people of all ages and abilities.
     • Easy to navigate with clear information about where parking is available and how to park when you arrive.
     • Data-driven, with a commitment to regular collection of good data to help inform decision-making.
     • Community-informed and committed to solutions that support Windsor’s small town, charming and family-friendly feel.
     • Flexible enough to evolve and respond to future needs of residents, the business community, and visitors.
     • Committed to good stewardship of financial and environmental resources.

Next Steps

At the Open House, the following near-term (2025) recommendations were shared as a high-level direction for Near-Term (Year 1) Downtown Parking Management Plan recommendations:

1. Create, fund and staff a parking & access management program within the town: Where parking management activities could “live” in the town organization, definition of program duties and staffing needs.
2. Develop a 2026 budget for parking & access management activities: The cost for initial staffing and program needs, e.g., additional wayfinding signs, online parking information and annual data collection.
3. Windsor Municipal Code updates: Preparation for a future that could include time-limited parking, residential parking programming, parking violation management and adjudication.
4. Special event regulation & residential area support: Special event signage, parking information and field support (through the new parking & access management program) designed to help alleviate special event parking issues and lessen the impact to downtown residential properties.
5. Annual data collection: To indicate when the town is ready to begin more active regulation through time limits and residential parking programming.

The consultant team is currently working on a draft of the plan, which will include specific, actionable recommendations and complementary budget recommendations. The draft plan will be delivered to town staff in mid-January 2025. Presentation of the draft plan is anticipated for the Town Board and Planning Commission Joint Meeting in early February 2025.