Business owners press council as staff advances downtown parking plan; wayfinding subcommittee formed

A broad group of downtown merchants and Main Street representatives told the City Council Jan. 28 that the city’s 2024 parking-systems evaluation understates peak demand and would displace customers if employee parking is shifted off-street.

Matt Busquette, whose properties are in the downtown corridor, said projects presented separately can unintentionally conflict and singled out the parking study as an example where policy could hurt small businesses. "The parking strategy can negatively impact the city brand," Busquette said during the public-comment period.

Multiple small-business owners, including Claudia Murphy and Kevin Murphy, told the council the study’s timing (conducted in January and some off-peak windows) and methodology do not match downtown peak usage and that several surface lots are essential for older customers and employees. Joy Brown Meredith, president of Main Street Palm Springs, urged simpler enforcement such as making prime on-street parking a three-hour limit 24/7 to improve turnover.

Staff recommended a phased approach: short-term items (standardize on-street time limits, improve visible enforcement and basic directional signage to underused garages); midterm items (no-reparking ordinance, an employee parking permit or incentive program, and targeted garage repairs and beautification); and long-term items (demand-based pricing and advanced parking management systems). Council members and staff agreed wayfinding is a high-priority short-term item and asked the city to engage a consultant on a branded downtown wayfinding master plan tied to the convention center efforts.

Council directed staff to pursue immediate, low-cost directional signage and garage maintenance, to accelerate design work for a cohesive wayfinding program, and to form an ad hoc council subcommittee to shepherd the wayfinding work and stakeholder engagement before considering reparking or employee-permit policies.