Ease of pedestrian circulation and parking facilities help in attracting visitors and shoppers to Downtown.
While there are currently 2246 public spaces in the downtown, parking is still perceived as an obstacle and inconvenience to downtown shoppers. This plan recognizes the vital importance of an appropriate number of safe and convenient parking spaces in downtown. With this in mind, the plan for pedestrian circulation and parking envisions downtown as an active pedestrian center, with easily accessible and convenient parking spaces located in close proximity to Main Street and other activity areas such as the riverfront and Columbus Plaza.
Ironically, in many cases the parking at suburban malls is far more distant than downtown parking but mall parking is much more direct. Presently, the downtown has a number of parking lots located in proximity to Main Street with sufficient capacity. What it lacks is a coherent and legible system of pedestrian circulation, which ties these parking lots to each other and to the nodes of activity. Further, the extremely wide Main Street divides the downtown and serves as a barrier between the two sides of Main Street.
The downtown needs a comprehensible system of pedestrian circulation which links activity nodes and parking areas. The pedestrian ways have to be sensitively landscaped so as to encourage people to use them and provide a sense of direction. The width of Main Street has to be reduced by providing textured crosswalks at appropriate locations and a landscaped boulevard.
Parking areas need to be appropriately landscaped, frequently patrolled and made to look more pedestrian friendly to dispel the prevalent notion that they are unsafe.