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2017 R ena i s s anc e P l an U pdat e | T own of W ak e F or e s t
additional stipulation. Street-level units in new developments, even if tenanted with office uses in the near term, must be designed as “flex space(s)” capable of accommodating retail occupancy at a later date. Specifically, each space should front the sidewalk, include its own entrance, extend to a width of roughly 20 feet and a depth of approximately 60 feet and rise to a ceiling height of at least 18 feet. It should be capable of accommodating the venting and exhaust needs of food purveyors. In addition, building services, like power and HVAC, should allow for convenient division and sub-lease to individual tenants.
available in downtown. This has been taken into account in the positioning strategy introduced earlier, in which downtown Wake Forest competes not as a location for “in-and-out” conveniences but rather, as a more leisurely “browse-worthy” destination. With the latter positioning, the availability of free, in-front parking spaces is not critical, as long as there are sufficient spaces within a block or so. This only holds, if the town is willing to embrace a market-driven approach to parking, with a focus on making more efficient use of existing resources and conditioning motorists to consider spaces a little further away from their destination if a proximate spot is not available. This would imply the introduction of (enforced) metered parking for the on-street stalls and off-street lots along and within a half-block of South White Street, while the spaces further afield (e.g. Brooks Street) remain free and unrestricted. It would also necessitate clear and strategically-located wayfinding signage as well as an educational public-relations campaign.
5.4.5 Parking Strategies
Applying suburban ratios to the 234,000 square feet of retail in downtown Wake Forest translates to a demand for 936 dedicated parking spaces. At present, there are 1,649 spaces across that same footprint of which the overwhelming majority are controlled by private interests. This supply must accommodate other kinds of non-retail uses, like commercial offices. This is not to suggest the need for another parking facility. Considering the expectations and perceptions of the consumer in evaluating parking supply and demand, it is clear that there is a need to educate visitors on the variety of parking locations that are
RECOMMENDATION 5E: Embrace a market-driven approach to parking, with a focus on making more efficient use of existing resources and conditioning motorists to consider spaces a little further away from their destination.
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