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SALT LAKE CITY — A recent survey showed 70 percent of residents are satisfied with the new parking meters in downtown Salt Lake City.
The new meters and other major changes were put in place in 2012. The updated meters allow residents to pay for parking with a credit card or smart phone, and parking hours were also extended.
"Parking is more available now than it was before we changed the hours," said Downtown Alliance executive director Jason Mathis.
City officials and business owners said that having good parking can shape a person's perception of an area.
"They want to come to the shop, but they have to think about parking and sometimes they give it a second thought," said business owner Ibou Fall.
Downtown business owners said that the new meters and extended hours have helped their business by making parking more accessible, but that patrons had some difficult adjusting to the newer technology at first.
"It was hard at first," said business owner Rick Chuntz. "We'd get a lot of customers coming in, not knowing what to do. It seems to have smoothed out a bit and I think people are figuring it out."
However, most of the people who were surveyed said they park in garages, like those at City Creek Center and the Gateway, and parking officials said they are always trying to maximize the most efficient travel and parking strategies.
"The supply of our parking has changed dramatically, and we're watching to see how that affects how people are parking on street," said transportation director Robin Hutcheson. "It's a discussion, an active discussion in every downtown in America and it's not always easy to get it 100 percent right. But the important thing is it supports our downtown experience. It supports the travel experience, so if we can learn a little bit about what people might be struggling with, we can do a better job."
In the study, only two people cited parking as the reason for avoiding downtown SLC in the last 12 months, and The Downtown Alliance and officials said they see that as progress.
