09-19-2005 Planning Commission Packet

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, BENSHOOF & ASSOCIATES, INC. TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERS AND PLANNERS i0417 EXCELSIOR BOULEVARD,SUITE TWO/HOPKINS, MN 55343/(952)238-1667/FAX(952)238-1671 September 9, 2005 Refer to File: 05-78 MEMORANDUM TO: Jim Anclerst Cindy Sudheimer FROM: Jim Benshoof �1� � RE: Parking Study for Proposed Expansion of Nar�ows Saloon PURPOSE This memorandum is to document the results of the parkirg study we have completed regarding expansion of your Narrows Saloon at 3380 Shoreline Drive in the City of Orono. As we understand, your proposal would add about 2,000 sq. ft. of indoor space for Narrows Saloon customers and also would add about 32 seats for outdoor dining. Aside from a couple of parking spaces on your property, all the parking demand for your business is accommodated in an adjacent public parking lot. Two key parking questions to address regarding your proposed expansion for the Narrows Saloon are: • Is the existing number of parking spaces in the public parking lot sufficient to accommodate the increased demand associated with the proposed saloon expansion? • Will sufficient spaces remain available in the public parking lot to serve users of other properties that rely upon this parking lot? We have perfornied a comprehensive parking study to effectively answer the preceding questions. In this context, we have obtained extensive information on existing conditions, have examined all factors that influence future parking deinand, and have correlated the existing parking supply with the expected total future parking demand. EXISTING CONDITIONS The first step is to understand the context of the Narrows Saloon relative to the adjacent public parking lot. Figure 1 is a recent aerial photograph, which shows the location of the existing Narrows Saloon, in relationship to adjacent properties and the public parking lot. An important item to note from the figure is that the public parking lot does not include an area imrnediately behind the Narrows Saloon building or areas to the north and west of the westerly-inost retail building.