FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Parking in and around the Dickson Street and Block Avenue areas will undergo a comprehensive review commissioned by a broad coalition representing tourism, businesses, developers, Walton Arts Center, and the University of Arkansas, a press release announced Wednesday.

Construction of the new deck is underway to replace parking that will be lost in the West Avenue lot for the development of the Upper Ramble.

“That just maintains the status quo. There are already plans for additional development in this area, and those do not address additional parking needs. We believe a comprehensive assessment will help everyone understand parking supply and demand so that informed decisions can be made for the area’s future growth,” said Peter B, Lane, president and CEO of Walton Arts Center.

According to the release, the area included in the Dickson-Block Parking Review is bordered on the north by West Lafayette Street, south by West Meadow Street, west by North University and Arkansas avenues, and on the east by St. Charles and Block avenues.

The study will be conducted by Kimley Horn, a planning and design consulting firm based out of Raleigh, NC, with experience conducting similar studies around the country. A release says the study will assess “existing parking supply and demand,” and “estimate future parking demand for three to five years based on proposed and approved projects.” It will also reportedly recommend if additional parking is needed, how many spaces, how it should be managed, and potential locations.

We have more students than ever at the University of Arkansas, continued business growth and development around Dickson Street and Block Avenue and the Upper Ramble – these are great things that we all support. But if we don’t responsibly assess and plan for the parking needs that come with this development, we are doing a disservice to existing businesses, institutions and to their students, customers and patrons.

Matt trantham, senior associate athletic director at the University of Arkansas

Kimley Horn will be on site for three weekends: September 22-24 during the run of “Pretty Woman: The Musical” at Walton Arts Center, September 29-October 1 during a Razorback football home game, and October 7-8 during a non-event weekend to collect data on existing parking utilization.

The qualitative portion of the review includes interviews with stakeholders, and peer reviews of cities with similar size and amenities to identify best practices by the firm, the release said. Additionally, surveys of current and past customers and patrons will be conducted by coalition members to gather details about perceptions of and experiences when parking in the area.

The entire review will take three to four months to complete, however, if easy parking solutions are identified at any time during the review, they could be shared and implemented as needed.