Berlin Parking Study Effort Continues

BERLIN – Plans for a parking and mobility study in downtown Berlin continue to move ahead.

This week, a committee of town staff is conducting interviews with several of the companies that replied to the town’s request for qualifications (RFQ) issued in July. Town leaders are seeking a study that addresses the town’s current and future parking needs.

“We’re interviewing the top firms this week,” Town Administrator Laura Allen said Monday. “We hope to have a recommendation to the mayor and council in October.”

This summer, the town issued an RFQ seeking a consultant to develop a parking study that would address three areas — existing parking conditions and recommendations, future parking needs and recommendations and requirements for recommendations. Officials want the consultant to review parking as well as pedestrian and bike traffic in town and then provide strategies to improve overall mobility. The town’s RFQ instructed firms to consider a variety of alternatives, including valet parking and the feasibility of a multi-level parking structure. The consultant will also be tasked with providing cost estimates for any recommended parking initiatives.

Proposals were due back to the town July 31. Allen said this week she was pleased with interest in the project, as five proposals were received. Though she’d initially hoped to have a recommendation to the council in September, Allen said it had taken some time to review the proposals and schedule interviews.

“Trying to coordinate schedules was challenging,” Allen said.

She said the proposals were in line with what the town had requested and that following the committee’s interviews staff would develop a recommendation for the town council.

About The Author: Charlene Sharpe

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Charlene Sharpe has been with The Dispatch since 2014. A graduate of Stephen Decatur High School and the University of Richmond, she spent seven years with the Delmarva Media Group before joining the team at The Dispatch.