Some business owners expressed concerns with Delaware’s proposed downtown parking changes, as the city finalizes its advocacy group to handle some of those proposals.

The Downtown Parking Advocacy Committee, or DPAC, will consist of about 28 members including downtown property and business owners, residents and city staff. The group will address some of the 50 proposed changes from the implementation matrix based on a downtown parking study completed earlier this year.

The group will break down into three subcommittees including one for public relations and the other law and enforcement, said Assistant City Manager Jackie Walker.

“We want every meeting to mean something,” she said.

Walker talked to downtown community members including business owners about the study with a representative of MKSK, a Columbus firm that conducted the parking study, at City Hall Thursday morning. She said agreements with owners of private parking lots in downtown are vital.

“None of this will succeed without your cooperation,” Walker said.

Some business owners expressed concern about the study’s focus on increasing parking turnover in the downtown core, along with the balance of meeting parking needs for the area’s visitors, employees and residents.

Fresh Start Cafe and Bakery owner Todd Daughenbaugh said downtown Delaware is becoming a destination. But if parking changes included fewer 10-hour spots, he said, downtown goers may feel rushed and not be inclined to stay longer.

City officials and consultants said not all of the desired spots are being used for the same lengths of time and that the technology is available to educate the public about which parking spots would be suitable for them.

For more information about the parking www.delawareohio.net/the-future-of-downtown-parking.