The City of Cedar Falls (population 40,000) is located in northeast Iowa and is the home of the University of Northern Iowa (UNI). Downtown Cedar Falls is a historic Main Street Community with active retail businesses and numerous restaurants, pubs, and taverns. The downtown area has seen significant new development in recent years, with many mixed-use residential/commercial developments completed, a new 127-room hotel that is currently under construction, and additional development projects in the planning and design phase. 

The new development activity’s level and pace have raised concerns by existing downtown businesses, residents, and stakeholders that existing parking is insufficient to support additional development. To address these concerns, WGI performed a parking study that included extensive public outreach efforts, parking impact analyses on new development projects, and a review of the entire public parking operation. 

Project Highlights

• The study revealed that additional public parking capacity in the form of structured parking will be needed to support any additional development activity. 
• City Council voted unanimously to direct staff to implement all recommendations included in the final report document