The City of Newberg is holding an open house on Tuesday, May 9 to solicit input from Newberg residents about the future of parking infrastructure and general downtown pedestrian wayfinding improvements in the downtown Newberg area.
The parking improvement project, which has been underway since 2016, is now a collaborative effort of the City of Newberg, Studio Davis, the Newberg Downtown Coalition, the Chehalem Valley Chamber of Commerce, and Taste Newberg. The project aims to evaluate the state of downtown Newberg parking and plan for strategic changes as the city’s local and tourism population grows.
“We’re very thankful for the renewed effort in the “Stable Table” approach,” wrote Newberg Downtown Coalition Executive Director Aubrey Nichols, noting that the city is taking the lead with planning and organizing but leaning on the other stakeholders to understand the community’s needs.
According to the project webpage, this effort will “develop recommended strategies to improve the efficiency of the City’s parking system in order to provide an updated platform for decision-making and future growth in the downtown Newberg area.”
What is the Newberg Downtown Parking Study?
Several factors are being considered outside of on- and off-street parking inventory. There is significant interest in how the community commutes and maneuvers around the downtown core area as well, as addressing any potential bottlenecks at this stage could help contribute to higher levels of tourist and resident satisfaction, said City of Newberg Planning Manager Clay Downing.
“How do you encourage people on the highway to stop and enjoy Newberg?” he asks. “Making it easy for people to find those parking areas to hop off the highway and join Newberg for a bit can contribute to the economic vitality in the downtown and really support the downtown businesses.”
The parking study started in 2016 with a report conducted by Portland-area company Rick Williams Consulting, which surveyed the downtown parking usage and capacity on a day in April 2016. Using the data collected, the consulting firm developed an 80-page report on data and recommendations.
Downing noted that, along with the 2016 report, they’re now utilizing tourism numbers and statistics from Taste Newberg to understand the full picture.
Why Is There a Parking Study in Newberg?
According to the 2016 report, Newberg was primed for a significant shift of its downtown “feel” with the introduction of the Newberg-Dundee Bypass. As more through traffic would be diverted from Hancock Street and 1st Street, the city could capitalize on the traffic that had a higher potential to stop in town and enjoy the restaurants, tasting rooms, and retail shops.
“We feel there are some people that come through Newberg on their way to the coast or further into wine country and think, ‘Newberg is cute, we should stop there sometime,’” said Downing. “Our goal with this is to take them from ‘We should stop there sometime’ to ‘Let’s pull over and check it out,’ and make it easy for them to do that.”
The 2016 report detailed several challenges to Newberg’s current parking infrastructure, including the appearance of Newberg’s parking options, the volume of parking spaces, data gathering and analysis, better and clearer signage, access to parking spots, and opportunities for purchasing more lots should inventory fall too low.
The Downtown-area is defined as a rough T-shape, spanning from Harrison Street to the west, 5th Street to the south, Sherman Street to the north, and River Street to the east. The more direct focus of the study is on Hancock Street and E 1st Street, both one-way streets that are part of Oregon Highway 99W.
“Having an ODOT Highway running through town is certainly a challenge,” wrote Nichols. “It stretches our creativity and what we can make space for and implement.”
Nichols said the highway is a challenge for business owners on the highway because of the noise, debris, exhaust, and general traffic — it creates unique business challenges that require patience, expertise, and grace to navigate. On the other side, it brings a steady stream of tourism and commuters through town, leading to more exposure and a wider customer base.
“We know it’s a long road ahead before the bypass is complete, so finding ways now to do the best with what we have is important,” Nichols wrote.
Downing also said Hancock Street and 1st Street streets potentially act as “river crossings,” where people are discouraged from crossing the busy highways to get to other businesses between the two streets or on the opposite side. This concept is of particular interest to the group because there are two large, public parking lots on either side of the downtown streets — one behind the Chehalem Cultural Center on the north side and one on 2nd Street on the south side.
“We’re asking all sorts of questions,” Downing said. “Would someone park in the 2nd Street lot if they wanted to go to a restaurant on Hancock? These are the kinds of questions we’re hoping to understand.”
These and more are questions Downing, Nichols, and the rest of the downtown parking study invested parties are hoping to answer with the community open house.
What Happens Next
The Downtown Parking Study Open House will help the stakeholder organizations understand a bit more about residents’ experience parking in Newberg. Once the open house is completed and the stakeholders have a complete view of Newberg’s downtown parking, they will report the findings to City Council. Then, City Council will decide whether to act on recommendations.
The open house will be held on Tuesday, May 9th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Denise Bacon Community Room at the Newberg Public Safety Building located on 401 E 3rd Street.
To learn more and track the project, visit the City of Newberg’s project planning site: https://www.newbergoregon.gov/planning/page/downtown-newberg-parking-study
