Downtown Midland Parking Study

Downtown Midland is growing and changing - and that’s a good thing! With more events, activities, new businesses, and opportunities to connect downtown, the City of Midland wants to ensure that access to these amenities grows right along with it.

To help manage and improve today’s parking conditions and plan for tomorrow, the Downtown Development Authority hired parking consulting firm Rich & Associates to conduct a parking study. This study did the following:

• Observed current parking conditions in Downtown Midland
• Inventoried and assessed existing Downtown parking
• Collected input from Downtown businesses and stakeholders, including residents
• Surveyed Downtown visitors

Consultants collected input from residents and business owners in two ways: via in-person public input sessions and via an online survey.

In-person public input sessions were held on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5 - 7 p.m. at Midland City Hall. Consultants from Rich & Associates collected public input, shared study data and parking information, and talked with visitors. In addition to the public input sessions, an online survey about downtown parking availability and improvements was made public for residents to submit their feedback.

Parking Study Results

At the February 5, 2020 Downtown Development Authority meeting, Rich & Associates presented the results of the study to the DDA board and the general public. The full presentation to the board can be found below (discussion of the study begins at the 42:40 mark). 

The full report is available for download below; however, a few key results of the study are:

• On an average day, only about 50 percent of the total Downtown parking supply is currently being utilized - a net surplus of just over 1,000 spaces.
• Eleven blocks in the Downtown have deficits of parking, meaning the supply of parking on that block cannot accommodate the demand for parking on that block.
• Future development of Downtown Midland projects, such as Delta College, will reduce the surplus of available spaces but will not create a deficit on an average day.
• Improving signage, publicity surrounding public parking availability, and handicapped parking accessibility would make significant differences in the perception of parking in the downtown.

Click the button below to download the study, which includes a projected time table for improvements/changes and a full tally of all available parking in the Downtown.