When you arrive at or near your destination, it’s always nice to have a place close by to park your car or bike, right? In Burlington, whether you’re headed to work, shopping, the waterfront, or a special event, it’s great to feel like someone rolled out the red carpet for your imminent arrival.
Of course, that’s not always the case (the red carpet, that is). So what happens when you have to search for parking? How far are we willing to walk from that spot?
It’s difficult to make hard and fast rules because, interestingly, for each of those situations mentioned above, people are generally willing to walk different distances.
According to research presented in Parking magazine, parking designers typically call for a maximum of 300-600 feet for retail customers, but between 1,200-1,500 feet for employees/commuters. For special events, maximums can reach up to 2,000 feet.
So how does Burlington’s parking tapestry stand up to these rough guides? Well, there’s plenty of on street parking around the downtown, but what about garages? The city’s most popular facility, Marketplace Garage, is around 500 feet to get to Church Street (a brick red carpet, of sorts) if you parked at the very eastern end of the garage. It’s very convenient, hence its popularity. But with only around 300 spaces, it’s no surprise that it can fill up on occasion so it’s good to know the other options.
What about the two large garages on the western side of the city, Lakeview Garage and College Street Garage? With a combined capacity of over 1100 parking spaces, these garages are always a good bet for open parking.
They might be a bit further from Church Street than Marketplace Garage, but they do provide immediate access to the many great restaurants and locally-owned shops on College Street, Cherry Street and the fantastic events hosted on the waterfront.
But even if you were going to amble up and down Church, Lakeview and College are only about 1,300 feet or a few blocks away.
Not being able to find a parking space next to an intended destination drives everyone mad. The great thing about downtown Burlington is that all of our parking garages are just steps from a long list of great local amenities. The town really isn’t that big.
If you are interested in learning more about parking options in Burlington for different situations, check out our interactive map.
Or don’t hesitate to drop us a line on our contact form!
Happy parking!