A shortage of parking spaces in Town Center, near the mall, and in some villages is causing dissatisfaction among residents and business owners.

According to The Woodlands Township 2014 Resident Survey Study, only 23 percent of respondents rated parking in Town Center as excellent or very good, and one-third of respondents rated it as fair or poor.

“Certainly we hear feedback from those that leave their office buildings to go to Market Street, Town Center or the mall, and we hear that parking is a challenge, especially during lunchtime and most especially during the holidays,” said Gil Staley, The Woodlands Area Economic Development Partnership CEO.

The township is looking at ways to alleviate the parking problems in Town Center, said Mike Bass, member of The Woodlands board and Woodlands Road Utility District.

The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center garage provides some relief for Town Center visitors to park. Yet when the hotel hosts a convention, the spaces are occupied by convention guests, leaving little room for residents, Bass said.

“In 2009 the township, with the Goodman Corp., started working on a transit garage expansion that would add 240 spaces,” he said.

The parking garage, which would be near Lake Robbins Drive and Market Street, is part of a transit center proposal that was turned down by the township board in August. It will be re-proposed to the board in January, Bass said.

The spots allocated to businesses in other areas of The Woodlands are also inadequate, STEP Pediatrics administrator Paul Purcell said.

The parking at STEP Pediatrics, at 4800 W. Panther Creek Drive, is a challenge because of The Woodlands design standards allocating the medical facility only four spaces per 1,000 square feet of property, he said.

Crust Pizza Co. has three locations in The Woodlands, two of which have difficult parking situations, co-owner Mark Raspberry said.

“The Panther Creek location is crazy because there’s not enough parking,” he said. “I think now that Republic Grille is there with us, parking is definitely an issue, and even the Creekside location—Creekside and Panther Creek are both pretty cumbersome.  Getting parking [at the Creekside Park location] now that Fielding’s is open—both of us draw decent crowds at night, and parking fills up.”

The parking spots the businesses are able to offer their employees and customers are based on what type of business it is, Staley said. For every 1,000 square feet of property, 3.5 parking spots are assigned. Buildings with a higher volume of guests, such as medical facilities, receive more spaces.

Purcell said business is affected negatively when parking is troublesome.

“When your building is short on parking and you have no way to expand parking and you can’t accommodate businesses who have high demands on parking, that factor inherently limits the volume the business can do,” Purcell said.