DOVER — Downtown Dover Partnership is holding an open house Tuesday with information and the opportunity to provide feedback on increasing parking capacity throughout the commercial area of Dover.

The open house is from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Dover Public Library.

Since November 2020, the DDP, through a public process and in concert with Colonial Parking Inc., has worked to develop a master plan for improving parking.

“The plan is still in draft form and involves a creative combination of free and paid parking, flexible timeframes and parking locations, and amenities such as bike racks and electric charging stations,” said Todd Stonesifer, DDP board president in a statemnet. “We have engaged and received ideas from more than 500 community members, and we continue to seek input from the public as we finalize this important process.”

Mr. Stonesifer also is a Dover resident, business and property owner.

“Convenient, well-signed and user-friendly parking is an integral part of a well-planned downtown corridor,” said Diane Laird, DDP executive director in a statement. “We are now preparing to engage the most qualified vendor to provide a strategic master plan for Dover’s central core, a plan to capitalize on central Dover’s assets, encourage new commercial and residential investment, and to spur the local economy.”

The parking solution will become a component of this master plan.

An implementation date for the parking solution, once finalized, has not yet been determined. The focus has been on developing a well-conceived solution that will be ready for launch when conditions suggest that the time is right, a release states.

These conditions could include additional business openings, increased visitation and new redevelopment including additional market rate residential opportunities that would feed an “open after 5” retail and restaurant district, the release states.

For details of the parking solution development process, including a projected timeline, meeting minutes and presentations to date, visit here.

In addition to the open house Tuesday, the DDP Parking Committee meets the third Wednesday of every month at noon. Meeting agendas and location are available at the city of Dover website.