Study to focus on Ingersoll's parking headaches

Parking on Ingersoll Avenue has caused headaches for years, and Polk County Supervisors decide today whether to pay for a study that could help.

Why it matters: Cell phone tracking shows Ingersoll Avenue's traffic has increased about 20% since 2021, from 1.7 million to about 2 million visitors last year, Lauren Kollauf, director of The Avenues of Ingersoll and Grand, a development advocacy group, tells Axios.

• That has made peak-time parking, especially when bars and restaurants are busiest, more challenging, Kollauf says.

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Catch up fast: Limited parking along Ingersoll has been a concern among residents and business owners for decades but that worry has grown louder in recent years as the city completes a streetscape project .

• A year ago, then-Mayor Frank Cownie described the project's effects on parking supply as " a real nightmare ."

Driving the news: The Avenues is hiring a consultant to review parking and make improvement recommendations.

• The group, the county and the city of Des Moines would split the $30,000 cost, under proposals going before supervisors and the City Council.

The intrigue: Possible solutions might not include more parking.

• Multiple private lots along Ingersoll are reserved for specific businesses but stay empty on evenings and weekends.
• The study will review how to facilitate sharing agreements to maximize those existing spaces, Kollauf said.

What's next: The study will take about three months to complete and include participation from the business district, a focus group and a residents' survey.

• DSM will consider potential solutions based on study outcomes, Michael Ludwig, deputy director of development services for the city, tells Axios.

Multiple parking lots along Ingersoll Avenue are privately owned and reserved for specific businesses. Photo: Jason Clayworth/Axios