The cost and management of downtown Austin parking may change under a new plan in the works.

But this is not the first time Austin has tried to address the downtown parking situation.

In releasing the implementation plan draft this May, stakeholders are hoping to identify a project leader who will give downtown-goers some relief when it comes to parking.

“This is the first time that the [downtown parking] situation has actually been analyzed using data and results to come up with a strategy,” said Dewitt “De” Peart, president of the Downtown Austin Alliance, an organization of downtown stakeholders.

Possible short-term downtown parking changes include making signage more consistent, better managing and enforcing parking time limits, and bringing policy resolutions to City Council, Peart said.

“I think the ideas that we are presenting are not new,” said Jeff Tumlin, one of the consultants with Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, the firm behind the study and recommendations. “But the pressure to change the status quo gets higher every year.”

Peart said the DAA is considering leading the implementation of Nelson\Nygaard’s recommendations so that downtown business owners and visitors can begin to see relief in the next six months.

“It’s certainly a role that we think we can perform,” he said.

Solving Downtown Austin's Parking Problems Stakeholders have tried to improve downtown parking in Austin for years. Here is a look at what has been accomplished so far, what changes are recommended to make parking easier for downtown-goers and what is next for the future of downtown Austin parking.[/caption]