The parking deck at Target Midtown is confusing to navigate, it is a three level structure with entrances at the first level from 3rd street and at the third level from Kings Drive. Target is on the third floor of the attached shopping complex and the other retail space is not occupied by any other businesses.
The design of Target Midtown’s parking garage is difficult to navigate.
Signage to direct traffic to Target from the first floor of the parking deck is hard to find. It is placed high above the peripheral vision of a person entering which makes it easy to miss when entering. At this point, if you are entering from 3rd street you must make a hard right into the garage to proceed to the ramp to the additional levels of the garage. If you are not familiar with the parking lot it is easy to confuse the “up” ramp with the “down” ramp which can be hazardous.
Entrance to the Target Midtown parking garage (on your left) The stop sign is even difficult to see behind the trees
If you are able to navigate your way to the “up” ramp, proceeding to Target gets a bit easier, it is a straight shot to the third floor with access to the second floor of the garage. Once on the third floor you need to find a place to park, which can be difficult. All traffic to Target flows to this level of the garage and in many instances finding a parking place is difficult at best.
There are the only two signs pointing drivers how to get to Target, if you miss them you are out of luck.
If you can’t find a parking spot your only move is to proceed back to the second or first floor of the garage. Which again, is a confusing mess. The first reaction of the driver is to proceed back to the “up” ramp. If you accidentally turn on this ramp the only way to know you are going in the wrong direction is a white arrow on the surface of the garage pointing up. In comparison the “down” ramp is on the exact opposite of the “up” ramp and is difficult to find, this is due to it’s proximity to traffic flow. When entering the third floor of the Target Midtown parking garage from 3rd Street you come out on the north end of the garage, then the organic traffic pattern directs someone towards the store to find a parking spot near the entrance.
Make a hard left into the parking garage from 3rd Street and this is how you get to the 3rd floor where Target is.
The signage on the third floor of the parking deck is identical to the first floor entrance from 3rd Street. This aids in the confusion of how to proceed to parking places on other levels of the garage when there is a need to do so.
The information signs can be quite confusing!
A recommendation to make this space easier to navigate would be to incorporate bigger brighter signage in better places. For example, when entering the garage there could be a digital sign that provides information of how many empty parking places are on each floor of the parking garage. This would help eliminate unnecessary traffic to the third floor of the parking garage as drivers would know that it is easier to park on the first or second floor and walk to Target.
An example of a digital parking sign which identifies how many empty parking places are on each level of the parking garage.
Signage directing traffic to the “up” and “down” ramps should be placed at eye level of the driver and should incorporate large bold lettering, and arrows to help direct traffic. A final recommendation would be to place identification directly on the floor of the parking garage. If done in bright colors this would help patrons navigate their way to the store.
The typically packed third floor of the Target Midtown parking garage.
These three observational recommendation can immediately help with traffic flow in the Target Midtown parking garage. A long-term study to look at implementing best measures should be done to determine if more could be done to make this parking garage easier to navigate.
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