Montpelier City Hall Rear Lot Structure Study

Description of the Project
The City of Montpelier hired the firm of Wilbur Smith Associates in the Spring of 2003 to assess the feasibility of constructing a parking structure on 1 or both of 2 parking lots behind City Hall and to develop of a conceptual design of such a facility.

The overall goal is to increase the supply of vehicular parking in the core of the downtown. If a structure can fit on one of the 2 lots behind City Hall, what might it look like? What might be the net gain of parking spaces? What impacts will need to be addressed?

Montpelier has been struggling with the issue of parking (not enough of it where people want it) for decades. While some strides have been made, the demand for the creation of more parking spaces in the downtown is at an all-time high.

Committee Report

View the Parking Committee Report (PDF) to the City Council written by Mary S. Hooper for the Montpelier Parking Committee.

Project Objectives
General objectives of the project are to:
  • Determine upon which lot, if either, a parking structure could be most effectively sited and constructed
  • Assess the range of potential impacts of a parking structure on the selected lot
  • Develop a conceptual design for a parking structure on the selected lot
  • Develop preliminary cost estimates based on the above
  • Provide information to and solicit input from the public and local officials
Issues and factors to be considered in assessing the sites' feasibility include, but are not limited to:
  • Adequacy of vehicular access and circulation and associated necessary improvements
  • Potential traffic impacts
  • Adequacy of pedestrian access and circulation and associated necessary improvements
  • Impacts on adjacent and surrounding buildings
  • Net increase in number of parking spaces
  • Property owner issues
  • Aesthetics
  • Location of existing utilities
  • Flood plain and permitting issues
  • Necessary massing and scale of a functional structure