Chapel Hill launches Park on the Hill website for downtown parking options

A new website launched this week may help alleviate the hassle of parking for those hoping to grab a bite or hit the stores on Franklin Street.

The site, Park on the Hill, aims to solve parking problems by showing downtown visitors where parking is available on a locator map.

The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership joined with the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau and the town of Chapel Hill to create Park on the Hill.

The site launched Monday and shows all parking lots, garages and metered spots — as well as their locations, costs and hours of operation.

Bobby Funk, assistant director of the Downtown Partnership, said when creating the site, the group hoped to answer all visitors’ parking questions.

“It’s a one-stop resource tool for anyone who’s trying to find parking in downtown Chapel Hill,” Funk said.

But he said he thinks Chapel Hill can still do more to improve parking downtown.

“There’s always room for improvements when it comes to parking, and we’re always working to make those improvements as we can,” Funk said.

Laurie Paolicelli, executive director of the Visitors Bureau, said she was pleased when the town and Downtown Partnership came to her with the idea for a parking guide website.

“We were a ready partner, because more than 2 million visitors come here a year,” she said. “According to our research, 80 percent of them drive.”

Paolicelli said it was important that the site show the different parking options available downtown, with a catchy title and a clean design.

“We all rolled up our sleeves and plotted the lots we have,” she said.

And Paolicelli said she thinks Park on the Hill will be an effective tool to make finding parking easier.

“We don’t hear the complaints so much as we hear the confusion and questions,” she said.

Ryan Hill, a manager of The Clothing Warehouse at 109 E. Franklin St., said he thinks parking is more of a problem for visitors than Chapel Hill residents.

While Hill hadn’t previously heard of the Park on the Hill website, he said he thought it would benefit those who are unfamiliar with downtown.

“Locals know where parking is, but maybe not tourists or people who never come down here,” he said. “To those targeted people, it’s probably a good idea.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.