The City of Marion, Iowa is one of the Midwest’s fastest growing cities. Located just minutes north of Cedar Rapids; Marion prides itself on being the best place in Iowa to raise a family and grow a business. The city was established in 1839 and is in Linn County, Iowa. Today 40,000+ people call Marion home. The city operates under the council/manager form of government and has done so since 1964. The City Council consists of seven members, including the Mayor.

Overview:
Marion is seeking proposals from qualified and experienced consulting teams to assist the city in managing the parking inventory located within the Uptown area, expanding on our Uptown Parking Study (2023). The Study lays out a variety of parking-related strategies based on approach, cost, impact, and timing. Additional data is now required to analyze the strategies based on data and best parking management practices to assist with the management of our parking assets. A successful proposal will evaluate the Uptown’s current parking system, provide an analysis of the data collected, recommend best management practices based on current utilization and future projections 5-10 years out, and future parking needs.

The Uptown area is bound by 7th Street and 15th Street and by 5th Avenue and 8th Avenue. The city’s commercial center has historically been centered on 7th Avenue (U.S. Business Highway 151), a collector street that connects the city to Cedar Rapids towards the southwest and continues northeast to Dubuque, Iowa. In 2019, the extension of 6th Avenue west to the 26th Street roundabout was completed, as an arterial street allowing traffic a second throughfare to 7th Street. The Uptown area is within the Marion Uptown Main Street District, which was established in 2013.

Most public parking is located on-street; unrestricted, public surface lots exist at City Hall as well as the Marion Public Library. Additionally, there are three (3) city-owned lots at the following locations:

• The southwest corner of 12th Street and 8th Avenue
• Along 9th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues (gravel lot)
• The southeast corner of the 7th Street roundabout, west of Zio Johno’s Restaurant
   

There are no parking garages or private-pay surface lots located in the district. The city is working to formalize a “Partners in Parking” program, initiated by Uptown Main Street, that signs private parking lots for public use during non-business hours. Properties that were developed in the mid-twentieth century or later generally have on-site parking, but properties developed earlier have little or no parking and current zoning code regulations for the U-1, Uptown 1 and U-2, Uptown 2 zoning districts do not require on-site parking for new projects. Parking permits are required only in a few locations for specific uses. All public parking is currently free of charge.

The consultant contract is funded through City of Marion Local Option Sales Tax funding. Current funding levels are budgeted at $50,000 in FY 27; funds have not been allocated at this time for potential implementation strategies.
 

Scope of Services:

Marion seeks to understand parking stall turnover based on data-driven information from an analysis of the current parking supply and the impact that it has on the business community. We seek to have a consultant develop a management strategy that balances the needs of businesses, employees, and patrons.

Section I – Information Collection / Preliminary Survey / Prioritization Plan:

1. Gather and review existing information from the City of Marion and other resources regarding the following:
   • Existing Uptown Parking Study (2023)
   • Existing Community-wide Wayfinding Plan (2025)
   • Existing Uptown Master Plan (2021)
   • City staff input
   • Uptown Parking Implementation Taskforce (UPIT) input (to be utilized as a steering committee for the entirety of the study).
2. Perform sufficient data collection via mapping to determine the existing supply of parking in the Uptown area, both public (on-street and off-street) and private, including short-term loading zones. Once collected, the data shall be compared to the data collected in 2023 as part of the Uptown Parking Study.
3. Perform sufficient data collection via mapping, the utilization of the existing public and private parking inventory during peak days (Thursday – Saturday) at peak times.
4. Perform sufficient data collection to determine how long vehicles are utilizing a public on-street and off-street parking space; including the location and if they are residents, consumers, or employees.
5. Gather information from public engagements to include in Section III: Study Development:
   • Stakeholder focus groups
   • Open house(s)
   • Council presentation
6. Perform a pedestrian safety and mobility audit along the 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue corridors in relation to traversing between public parking areas and businesses.
   • Ease of navigating the Uptown area in terms of parking (signage/wayfinding)
   • Locations of ADA parking stalls
   • Locations of street lighting related to walking to parking at night, especially for employees after closing
   • Visibility of cross traffic at existing pedestrian crossings related to on-street parking locations

Section II - Data Analysis:

1. Perform an analysis of the 2023 Uptown Parking Study existing inventory of public and private parking numbers gathered in Section I. The comparison should detail the differences in amount and distribution within the Uptown area.
2. Perform an analysis of the 2023 Uptown Parking Study parking utilization of existing public and private parking numbers gathered in Section I during the peak dates and times.
3. Analyze vehicle turnover rates based on the data collected in Section I.
4. Determine the value of public on-street and off-street parking stalls. This information shall assist in determining where short-term and long-term time restrictions should be located, including potential employee parking and resident parking.
5. Analyze pedestrian safety and mobility audit data along the 6th Avenue and 7th Avenue corridors related to parking:
   • Ease of navigating the Uptown area in terms of parking (signage/wayfinding)
   • Locations of ADA parking stalls
   • Locations of street lighting related to walking to parking at night, especially for employees after closing
   • Visibility of cross traffic at existing pedestrian crossings related to on-street parking locations
      

Section III - Study Development:

1. Identify parking management recommendations, including triggers for when to implement the recommendations based on data collected in Section II above related to:
   •  Time limits (i.e. 2-hour zones, 4-hour zones, 8-hour zones, loading/drop-off zones).
     • Consider the economic impact of vehicle turnover based on the value of a parking stall.
   • Locations for employee parking, including proximity consideration for those that work later into the evening (midnight) or start early in the day (3am).
     • Include elements that make these areas suitable for employee parking (i.e. adequate lighting).
     • Include strategies for enforcement.
   • Pedestrian safety and mobility audit elements:
     • Ease of navigating the Uptown area in terms of parking (signage/wayfinding)
     • Locations of ADA parking stalls
     • Locations of street lighting related to walking to parking at night, especially for employees after closing
     • Visibility of cross traffic at existing pedestrian crossings related to on-street parking locations
2. Provide an analysis of the feasibility of paid parking vs. permit programs, including triggers and strategies on how to strategically move from free parking to paid parking.
3. Review existing short-term loading zone locations and provide any recommendations on their current locations, alternate locations, and future locations if the need increases over the next 5-10 years.
4. Review and identify signage and "wayfinding" improvements based on existing and planned signage to guide people to underutilized public parking a block away (vehicular and pedestrians). Minimizing sign clutter related to parking (i.e. wayfinding, time limits).
5. Identify and provide recommendations for relocating ADA parking stalls when the 7th Avenue festival street is closed for an event (10th Street to 12th Street).
6. Identify policy recommendations related to best management practices, including enforcement of parking ordinances.
7. Review Ch. 340-8.2, Parking and Loading Regulations and Ch. 340-5.9, Central Corridor Districts and identify applicable code amendments for the Uptown area based on best management practices in today’s environment and future trends in parking. Provide triggers for when code amendments based on future trends in parking should be analyzed for consideration.  
8. Integrate information and findings from Section I and Section II above, including the relationship to the adopted 2023 Uptown Parking Study strategies.
9. Provide future projections for parking needs based on continued growth 5-10 years out.
10. Identify at least three potential sites for future parking expansion / acquisition, including:
    • Triggers for a parking structure that could be adapted into a new use if required.
    • Evaluation of the reuse and feasibility of mixed-use lots.
11. Ensure the recommendations take into consideration the reconstruction of 7th Avenue from 13th Street east to the scope boundary, and how the narrowing of the roadway impacts parking and parking management strategies.

Section IV - Products and Deliverables:

1. Presentation graphics for public open house (to be determined in advance of the event).
2. Progress updates in MS Word format to be shared out with City Council and/or the public (based on milestones set by the city and selected consultant, i.e. monthly, phase completion – Phase I, or progress completion – 25%, 50%, 75%).
3. Presentation to City Council at the mid-point of the study, informing them of early findings and early data milestones.
4. Draft plans in PDF format (to be provided at predetermined milestones set by the city and selected consultant, i.e. 50%, 75%, 90%).
5. Data associated with maps shall be compatible with ESRI products at the time of project completion.
6. Data associated with any tables or charts shall be provided in MS Excel format at the time of project completion.
7. A “one-sheet” informational handout geared towards business owners summarizing the value of parking spaces related to economic impacts.
8. Final document in PDF format.