Study warns of parking problems when waterfront lot goes away

Where will you park when the gravel parking lot at the popular Daniel Island waterfront disappears, and will there be enough spots left? 

The Daniel Island Neighborhood Association set out to answer these questions by conducting a summer observation of the waterfront parking situation over the course of a 50-day period. 

The volunteer, nonprofit group wanted to determine whether neighboring parking spaces can adequately handle the number of daily waterfront visitors once the gravel lot is developed. 

East West Partners, which owns the property, recently announced that they will convert their lot into a new boutique hotel. The decision caught many visitors off guard as they were unaware they were parking on private property.  

Once the land is developed, it will eliminate the 107 spaces currently used by visitors to park, play, and dine at the waterfront. 

But even without those spaces, DINA's study determined there will still be plenty of spaces available. 

They counted 332 publicly available spots within a quarter-mile walk to the waterfront. 

Of those spots, about 220 are located along River Landing Drive, either as street-lined parking or spaces behind businesses, with the remaining located along small streets surrounding the waterfront restaurants and residential units. 

WILL IT BE ENOUGH? 

When the current lot is gone, DINA asked if there will still be enough spaces left over to accommodate all the daily visitors?  

The answer is yes and no. 

The study determined that on typical non-event weekdays and weekends, there should be no major concerns: plenty of spaces should be available for public use. 

In fact, the data collection found that even during the busiest times of a typical week (weekday mornings and afternoons, and weekend evenings) roughly 25% or more of the spaces would still be available for additional or overflow parking nearby. 

But when it comes to yearly events and festivals that draw in hundreds of visitors to the waterfront, it may be a very different story. The study concluded that during those events, the current parking capacity may not be enough to meet the demand. 

Data collected during this summer's Charleston Charity Duck Race on May 30, which attracts hundreds of people from around the Lowcountry, revealed that during peak times, the total number of vehicles at the event exceeded the available official parking spots by 88 spots. 

It may have forced late-arriving visitors to circle back near the town's shopping district off Seven Farms Drive to find and secure available parking. 

With other yearly events scheduled, and the addition of 800 newly-built residential units in the immediate area, the study determined that it is obvious the demand for parking will increase. 

"Potential local development expansion will further increase pressure on parking availability," adding that, "with current observed event parking demand already above parking capacity, the most likely effect will be that weekend evening parking demand will probably exceed parking availability as well." 

CONCLUSION 

On Wednesday, Sept. 9, DINA will hold its quarterly meeting at the Daniel Pointe Retirement Community auditorium at 6:30 p.m., where more details from the parking study will be made available. Charleston Mayor William Cogswell will also be on hand and is expected to lead a question and answer session. 

The study concluded that "one of the key ingredients in this success [of Waterfront Park] has been the presence of adequate parking. As the Daniel Island population increases over coming years and development at the Waterfront fills out, parking at the Daniel Island Waterfront will likely come under greater pressure." 

The study summed up its report by stating the creation, support, and popularity of the Waterfront Park may "have led to us becoming victims of our own success."