FARGO — With major construction projects underway and the prospect of new businesses and customers, the need for additional parking in downtown Fargo hasn’t gone unnoticed by city officials.

The city parking commission will meet in January to discuss new parking projects, said Jim Gilmour, city director of strategic planning and research.

About 439 spaces across Fargo's downtown have closed since 2015 due to construction, including 124 parking spaces near the Block 9 construction at Second Avenue North and Broadway.

While the Roberts Commons garage added about 454 parking spaces in 2017, there has only been a total net gain of 15 parking spots in the downtown area as of Nov. 20, 2018.

The construction of the Roberts Commons garage was in large part to help with parking, Gilmour said.

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Gilmour — along with Mayor Tim Mahoney and Mike Williams, chair of the parking commission — said there are several locations across downtown that are being considered as possible sites for parking ramps or garages.

According to a 2015 city parking report, two sites are located at Fourth Street North and Broadway Avenue, near the Red River Market area, and another location to the west of The Old Broadway at 22 Broadway N. on NP Avenue.









Gilmour said another consideration is adding an extra level to the Civic Ramp, adjacent to the Radisson Hotel at Fifth Street North, but additional engineering work needs to be done before that can proceed.

The Block 9 project will include about 400 parking spaces when it is completed, about 350 for employees and 50 for customers and visitors, Gilmour said.

Williams said the city added more four-hour parking zones to help alleviate the parking crunch downtown.

Mahoney said as Fargo begins to urbanize more, it is necessary for people to rethink parking and traveling downtown, especially as the younger generation is trending toward walking and biking more.

It will be harder for people to park right in front of their desired business and they might to have park farther away, he said.

Williams agreed with Mahoney's assessment, adding that cities need fewer surface-level parking lots and more mixed-use buildings that have access to parking.

Melissa Rademacher, Downtown Community Partnership president, said parking hasn't been a serious issue for downtown businesses and she said construction crews have done a good job of making sure spaces are available.

Rademacher said parking likely won't be an issue during the holiday season.

"There's plenty of parking now. We just want to make sure that it continues," she said.

The City Commission will review parking projects the parking commission suggests after the parking commission meets in January, Mahoney said.

Travis McCollum, a 42-year-old Fargo resident, said the Roberts Commons garage has helped with parking whenever he comes downtown, especially when construction has taken up previously available spots.

But McCollum added, “parking downtown has always been a pain."