ROUNDTABLE
Parking (PART ONE): Parking Studies/Wickford
September 26, 2024
12:00 noon – 1:00 PM
Online via Zoom
Presenters:
Nicole LaFontaine & Ben Mandel, North Kingstown Department of Planning and Development
John Shevlin, CEO, Pare Corporation
One of the first questions always asked when we bring up Main Street is “what about parking?!” Of course, it always seems like there’s never enough parking in a commercial district, even when our goal is to create a walkable area. But how do we know whether that is really the case? Enter the parking study – the first step in making data-driven decisions about access and transportation, including parking management. North Kingstown recently undertook such a study in historic Wickford Village. With their now completed study as an example, we’ll discuss the what, why, and how of doing a Main Street parking study.
Parking (Part 2): Can Parking Reform Save Our Downtowns?
February 12, 2026
Featuring: Kevin Lowther and research from the RWU School of Law Housing Policy Clinic
Parking is an issue of great interest for Main Street districts, so we’re building on our earlier conversation about Parking Studies to see what the research actually says about parking and what we can do to better manage it.
Kevin Lowther is in his final semester as a law student at Roger Williams University. Last semester, he participated in the school’s inaugural housing clinic, where he studied parking reform and wrote state legislation that will be part of the advocacy agenda of Neighbors Welcome. He is an advisory committee member of Neighbors Welcome, a board member of Habitat for Humanity South County and a former Town Counselor and Planning Board member in Westerly, RI.