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The concept of a Downtown Parking and Pedestrian Action Plan was developed <br />to address three key changes to Downtown Louisville: <br />1. In 2009 the Louisville City Council passed an ordinance increasing the <br />cap on development of the westerly portion of downtown from 354,000 <br />square feet to 475,000 square feet (excluding City -owned buildings). This <br />change permits an additional 164,000 square feet of development <br />downtown. When new development occurs, it will increase the demand <br />for parking in the downtown area. Accommodating the additional square <br />footage without compromising the unique character of Downtown <br />Louisville will be essential to the continued success of downtown. <br />2. Between 2008 and 2009 City of Louisville Planning Staff completed a <br />downtown parking study which demonstrated a maximum of one parked <br />car for every 532 square feet of development. The study also showed <br />that no more than 59% of the parking spaces downtown were occupied at <br />any given time. As a result of these findings, the Louisville City Council <br />passed an ordinance reducing the amount of parking required for new <br />development downtown from 1 space per 400 feet of development to 1 <br />space per 500 square feet of development for all uses except for <br />residential and adopted specific residential parking requirements for the <br />downtown area. The ordinance was passed with the recognition that the <br />on- street parking in the core of downtown was experiencing high levels of <br />utilization while off - street spaces maintained low utilization rates. In order <br />for downtown to continue to be successful, the City will have to better <br />manage on- street parking resources and extend the reach of the <br />pedestrian through specific urban design actions to better utilize off street <br />parking supply. <br />3. While the aforementioned policy changes were taking place, the <br />popularity of Downtown Louisville continued to increase. The success of <br />the Downtown Street Faire and the Main Street Patios, coupled with the <br />addition of four new restaurants and an ice cream shop has led to an <br />influx of downtown visitors. Continuing to meet the parking needs of <br />these visitors, while maintaining and enhancing the unique character that <br />drew them to area in the first place, is essential to the continued success <br />of downtown. <br />The Downtown Parking and Pedestrian Action Plan aims to address these key <br />changes. The objective of the plan is to better maximize the utilization of on- <br />street and off - street parking, public and private parking resources, using <br />both short and long term solutions focused on creating a vibrant, walkable, <br />and economically vital Downtown Louisville. <br />Thirty three projects have been selected which address the objective. Certain <br />projects were chosen because they directly increase parking supply or maximize <br />the utilization of short or long term parking through management solutions. Other <br />projects were selected because they will enhance the utilization of remote off <br />