Demand for parking is high in Corona del Mar, study finds, but off-street options are underutilized

A recent study shows that Corona del Mar has plenty of parking — just not necessarily where drivers use it.

The study, completed last month for the Corona del Mar Business Improvement District, looked at street and surface parking around CdM’s commercial core, about a block in either direction off East Coast Highway between Avocado Avenue and Hazel Drive.

During midday and evening counts on both a Thursday and a Saturday, Walker Consultants found that on-street commercial demand far outpaced supply, but off-street parking was underutilized.

There were 1,759 total spaces within the one-mile study area: 429 on-street spaces and 1,330 off-street.

At noon on the study days, the demand for on-street was an estimated 769 to 783 cars. At 7 p.m., it was 528 to 596.

But even at noon on a Saturday, there were about 585 off-street spaces available.

Bernie Svalstad, chair of the CdM business improvement district, said Walker Consultants still needs to formulate analysis and recommendations with the raw parking data.

Svalstad said the city-mandated parking ratios — or the number of parking spots per square foot of business space — are too high and difficult for businesses to achieve. Ratios vary by use, but average about four spaces per 1,000 square feet, he said.

The business district would like to bring those down, taking into account the more recent preference for walking and ride-share services like Uber.

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