Kingston has issued a Request for Proposals for a citywide parking study as the city rethinks how it manages curb space and public lots. The RFP seeks a firm to inventory publicly available parking by time of day and season, compare Kingston to similar communities, and recommend strategies to better use existing capacity. The public will get a say too, as the work includes community engagement and a survey. The parking project is backed by a $100,000 Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council planning grant.
The study comes after years of friction over parking, especially Uptown. Enforcement changes and fee increases have drawn strong reactions from residents, workers, and businesses, with debates often splitting along questions of turnover, convenience, and fairness. The city aims to tackle parking issues with a broader approach that could include updated regulations, clearer signage and wayfinding, and new tools for managing parking demand and supply.
The Kingstonian project, which has long been promoted in part for the parking it would add, has been stalled for years. At the same time, the city has sought mixed-use redevelopment proposals for the North Front Street municipal parking lot, raising the stakes for how Uptown handles day-to-day demand. Kingston’s zoning overhaul in 2023, adopted amid a housing crunch, also removed minimum parking requirements for new housing, shifting the focus from mandating spaces to managing what already exists and finding innovative ways to increase supply.
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