City planning staff and consultants on Tuesday outlined a Downtown Parking Management Plan intended to coordinate parking, improve wayfinding and limit spillover from employees and special events in Troutdale’s downtown.

The plan, presented to the Troutdale Town Center Advisory Board, summarizes a summer parking inventory and usage survey, finds concentrated demand at Mayor Square and the North parking lot, and recommends near-term administrative actions — including appointing a parking manager, creating a parking management district and rolling out improved signage and a parking-ambassador program — while keeping a range of mid- and long-term tools on the table such as time limits, designated employee lots, paid parking in high-demand areas and remote/shared parking tied to future Urban Renewal Area (URA) development.

Why it matters: Downtown businesses and visitors regularly compete for limited spaces and the city seeks ways to support retail turnover, retain customers and reduce double-parking that blocks visibility and creates safety hazards. The plan is intended to allow Troutdale to manage growth “without overbuilding” and to give staff a roadmap for phased implementation and monitoring.

Staff said the inventory found roughly 276 on-street stalls downtown and 395 off-street stalls. About one-third of on-street stalls have posted time limits (mostly two hours in historic Columbia River Highway blocks, up to four hours on Dora and Harlow); two-thirds currently have no posted limits. The off-street inventory includes about 51 specialty stalls (ADA, EV, motorcycle). The survey was taken in July — staff noted that July is the city’s peak visitation month and that data therefore reflects high-season demand rather than a year-round average.

The presentation listed four near-term themes: administration, user and visitor information, parking management and parking enforcement. Near-term administrative recommendations to be implemented within about five years include hiring or assigning a parking manager and creating a regulation advisory group (TCAB was mentioned as a possible venue). The user-information recommendations emphasize consistent naming of lots, a signage and wayfinding plan, parking maps and a communications campaign to reduce perceived shortages.

On parking-management tools the plan recommends: expanding the city’s current mix of time-limited on‑street stalls where appropriate; considering an area parking permit program (including overnight permits already used by some residents); exploring employee-designated lots to reserve longer-term spaces for staff and free up customer spaces; piloting pay-to-park at certain lots (Glen Otto/Glen Auto Community Park was cited as a candidate); creating loading/unloading zones; and reviewing the location and usefulness of ADA stalls.

On enforcement, staff said the city currently responds to complaint-driven enforcement but that a future, more proactive approach may be needed — especially if paid parking or stricter time limits are implemented. The plan emphasizes an enforcement approach that prioritizes education and safety, and that enforcement resources are costly without some payment mechanism to justify routine patrols.

Consultants and board members discussed other recurring themes: the lack of consistent lot names (which complicates directions and signage), delivery trucks and double-parking, and how employees often occupy prime customer spaces because some lots currently have no time limits. Presenters noted some streets west of Buxton now have posted two-hour limits that were not in place when the survey was conducted; that change should reduce long-term employee parking in customer spaces in those blocks.

Speakers suggested several implementation tactics: use volunteers or business staff as parking ambassadors (to direct visitors and promote shuttles during special events), coordinate messaging with downtown businesses (for example training salon staff so they can guide customers), and pursue grant or district funding mechanisms for infrastructure or maintenance costs tied to more active curb treatments. The plan lists potential funding pathways including the general fund, local improvement districts and economic improvement districts.

Longer-term options retained for future consideration include expanding on-street supply where right-of-way permits, remote/shared parking linked to URA development and, as a last resort, a new parking structure near the Confluence/URA area if demand justifies the cost. The Glen Auto Community Park lot is under evaluation for reconfiguration and potential mid-term changes; staff said Kittelson consultants are preparing scenarios and cost estimates.

Staff said final plan documents should be posted online shortly and that many of the near-term tactics will require cross-department collaboration with public works, economic development and Multnomah County. The presentation also flagged a Sandy River shuttle pilot, continuing outreach to TriMet about transit access, and the need to coordinate with county roadway projects (for example planned bump-outs and curb paint to improve crosswalk visibility on Buxton).

Board members raised safety and multimodal concerns: some bicycle advocates said bump-outs reduce visibility for cyclists and may require additional treatment; staff and others said bump-outs are intended to improve pedestrian visibility and slow motor vehicles. Members requested more data on employee counts (city business-license records can be used to estimate employees per downtown business) and more granular visitation-tracking from cell-phone analytics as needed.

The plan recommends continued monitoring and a phased approach so the city can adjust tools as downtown activity and URA development — including any future parking supply at the Confluence — evolve.

The city staff said the final plan document would be posted online within days and that the next steps include creating a timeline for implementation and continuing community outreach.

Ending: Staff asked board members for additional feedback as the city prepares communications and near-term pilot projects; the board indicated support for more coordination with businesses on messaging, early piloting of ambassador staffing at events and continued evaluation of Glen Auto Community Park reconfiguration.