Decades ago, Downtown Natchez streets, including on-street parking options, were altered to prioritize swift vehicular flow, resulting in a downtown that is now engineered for speed with numerous intersections and roads becoming hazardous for pedestrians.

TSW was retained by the City of Natchez to provide transportation planning and engineering design services associated with the City’s Downtown Transportation and Parking Plan. The purpose of the effort is to review, analyze, and extend the transportation-related components of the Natchez Downtown Master Plan to improve multimodal traffic operations, safety, and comfort for all travelers, while supporting desired land use, urban design, and economic development activities. The city seeks to cultivate a pedestrian-friendly downtown environment, with streets and parking tailored to suit the surrounding context of walk-to commercial and residential areas.

Project scope includes analyzing traffic counts, vehicle crash data, developing GIS mapping, and examining land use and transportation planning studies. Parking in the project area will be analyzed according to per-block supply of on-street and off-street parking spaces and parking demand estimates on a per-block basis. Recommendations will include potential street reconfiguration to include on-street parking, intersection enhancements that focus on traffic control recommendations, and truck loading zone strategies. Parking recommendations will include strategies to provide parking at strategic sites (on-street, off-street, and parking structures), with a focus on addressing the parking needs arising from new downtown employment hubs, hotel development, and conference facility expansion. TSW will also identify proposed locations and develop standards for bicycle parking.