As the city of Franklin's population increases and as they experience an increase in tourism, the city has to deal with more traffic and a need for more parking.
"We want to provide a convenient, friendly welcoming environment downtown, and parking is a major way that you do that," Eric Stuckey, city administrator, said.
Most people know that if you search around for long enough, you can find a spot, and some lucky ones will find a spot right in front of the store or restaurant they're going to, but both locals and shop owners have noticed the parking situation has changed.
"As our community has grown, the demand for parking has definitely grown," Hollie Rollins, owner of Savory Spice Shop on Main Street, said.
To address the problem before it starts deterring people from downtown Franklin, the city was presented a study on Tuesday with numerous options on how to modify and add to parking in the downtown area.
"They've seen the growth coming for the last ten or so years, and they do really care about what's happening in the city, and they are looking for ways to have the growth be positive but not have it be so big that you can't find a place to park here," Rollins said.
The study includes ideas like adding more parking structures downtown, adding more parking within walking distance, charging for parking in certain spots, and many other ideas.
"This is very much a long-term perspective," Stuckey said of the study, adding that Franklin officials don't want to rush any decisions, making sure they do what's best for the city. "There'll probably be some issues that are more short-term, earlier implementation, and then some of these other issues may take a significant period of time to decide on and even longer to implement."
