Downtown Parking

With sweeping views of the Wildlife Refuge, downtown Ridgefield’s tree-lined streets are the perfect place to enjoy a number of unique shops and charming restaurants.

One ongoing challenge to this has been the lack of parking available in the Downtown Core Area. The City is working with Downtown merchants, residents and Ridgefield Main Street to identify potential solutions to open up additional parking capacity in the downtown core.

Parking Issues

Common parking issues reported by downtown businesses and community members:

• Parking availability in downtown core (Pioneer from 5th Avenue to Main Avenue, Main Avenue from Pioneer Street to Mill Street)
• Lack of ADA parking
• Lack of designated loading zones
• Curb markings for parking zones need to be refreshed
• Poor sight distance at core intersections (N 4th Avenue and Pioneer, N 3rd Avenue and Pioneer)
• Wrong way drivers in one-way zone on S Main Avenue
• Need for designated longer term parking (i.e. for residents, business employees)
• Pioneer Street is too narrow for vehicles with boats/trailers

The map below identifies approximately 250 on street parking spaces in the Downtown Core Area, and about 140 spaces in the Downtown Outer Area.

Current On-Street Parking

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Actions the City Has Taken

The following are actions the city has taken since starting the project.

• Wrong-way drivers on S Main Avenue: Added a one-way turn arrow from S Main to Sargent near Eagle's View Park. Assessed signage.
• Discussed removing parking restrictions along Pioneer at the Ridgefield Administrative and Civic Center with School District.
• Presented and asked for feedback at two Ridgefield Main Street Community Meetings (6/8/23 and 3/14/24).
• Agreement with Ridgefield Postmaster for downtown mailbox request.*

*Downtown Mailbox History: For several decades, there was a past practice of not permitting mailboxes within 1/4 of the Ridgefield Post Office. This has ended, and there is now a process in place for downtown residents to install a mailbox at their residence, if desired. This process is started at the Ridgefield Post Office. This has created a new potential issue of parking in front of these new mailboxes.

Proposed Parking Plan

As a result of the study, the Public Works Department has come up with a list of options to address the concerns. The main objectives of these are to add parking spaces, create turnover in existing high demand parking spaces and help visitors to locate public parking.

• Install wayfinding signage for existing public parking areas at Davis Park and along Railroad Avenue.
• Designate two 15-minute limit spaces per block along Main and Pioneer in downtown core, weekdays 8 AM to 5 PM.
• Rebuild Sargent Street from S Main to S 3rd Avenue, adding a parking lane. This project is funded by a Community Development Block Grant and is expected to occur in 2025.
• Extend yellow curbs at intersections along Pioneer to provide larger vehicle pull-offs for vehicles towing wide boats.
• Continue to work with C-TRAN to provide shuttles for large events.

• Designate 2-hour limit on all other spaces in downtown core, weekdays 8 AM to 5 PM. Requires Council Action.
• Update parking code to restrict parking in front of mail boxes. Requires Council Action.
• Remove most no-parking zones in front of Ridgefield Administrative and Civic Center and along N 3rd Avenue. Requires Council Action.
• Convert N 4th Avenue to One-Way from Pioneer to Simons Streets and add angled parking, similar to N 5th Avenue. Requires Council Action.
• Improve enforceability of parking code. Requires Council Action.

The map below demonstrates these proposed changes and an estimated gain of 20-30 spaces in the Downtown Core Area, for a total of 270-280 spaces. If you have feedback on any of the proposed changes, please submit them below.

Public Works will bring the action items that require City Council action to the Council for consideration this Spring.

Proposed Changes - On-Street Parking

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