LYNN — The Planning Department will lead the first of several public workshops at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Lynn Museum to collect community input on the city’s downtown parking system.

The workshop will feature information about Downtown Lynn’s existing parking supply and provide participating residents with an opportunity to share their opinions, mark-up maps, and provide suggestions about how to improve parking downtown.

“A thoughtful, well-designed Downtown Parking Strategy is essential to improving the management and accessibility of our public parking spaces,” Mayor Jared Nicholson said. “Parking plays an essential role in supporting Lynn’s economy and vitality. These community workshops will provide the perspectives of those making the downtown a cultural and business hub and help guide our plan to (create) a more vibrant and sustainable downtown for everyone.”

In an effort led by the Planning Department, the city is working toward developing a parking strategy as a priority action item identified in Vision Lynn, the city’s comprehensive plan. The new strategy aims to improve the city’s parking policies and parking management to ensure adequate parking facilities are available to meet current needs while supporting future growth in the downtown.

In addition to Wednesday’s public workshop, the city will host two more public meetings in the coming months, along with a series of focus groups. According to Principal Planner Aaron Clausen, a community survey will be published online Wednesday evening for residents, visitors, business owners, and employees to provide feedback about their experiences with parking in Downtown.

“We’re excited to kick the public process off with this first community workshop,” Clausen said. “This is the first of many opportunities for the community to engage in this process and help shape a parking strategy downtown that gets the most out of this resource and continues to support investment in our downtown.”