Fairfax plans to skip a full-blown downtown parking study in favor of less expensive option: staff and community legwork.

The Town Council, which held a discussion on the issue at its meeting on May 21, decided it lacked the funds for a comprehensive examination of parking and circulation.

“In a perfect world, I would like to see a utilization study where we actually looked at turnover and actually assess whether we had enough parking,” Mayor Lisel Blash said. “We would be able to model whether we had enough parking if we added new development, if we changed circulation flow, if we decided to have paid parking. We don’t have the money for that right now.”

Instead, the town will have officials and volunteers update baseline data. The work would be the first step in a more detailed plan for the central area, a need expressed in the 2010-2030 general plan.

The area includes most of the commercial corridor along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard from Pastori Avenue to the library. A 2003 parking study found 583 parking spaces in private lots and 287 in public spots. At the time, merchants stated they preferred keeping parking supply over landscaping or other improvements to the area, said Jeffrey Beiswenger, the town’s planning and building director.

An update of the 2003 study could cost about $25,000 to $75,000 for a limited look at inventory and other factors. Alternatively, a new parking and circulation study would cost $50,000 to $150,000, providing data on traffic volume, vehicle speeds, travel times, pedestrian traffic and transit use. It also could examine intersections and congestion areas and suggest potential improvements.

Councilmember Michael Ghiringhelli said any new study should account for housing development like the proposed 243-apartment complex at 95 Broadway.

Blash asked how the lower-cost options like an updated parking inventory would be useful for staff.

Beiswenger said staff can collect baseline data, such as how parking conditions have changed since the 2003 study, and perform some outreach with business owners in the area.

“At that point we could make some recommendations, and that’s where we might get a bit out of our depths as staff and we might have to turn to the dreaded consultant,” Beiswenger said.

Councilmember Frank Egger asked where funding would come from. Beiswenger said the costs are estimates and a study is not budgeted.

Councilmember Barbara Coler said funds need to go to more “pressing needs” like roads, but felt updating the inventory was a good first step.

“I don’t think we can even afford to spend $25,000,” Coler said. “I think we should do this with staff, with — as Councilmember Ghiringhelli suggests — a couple of merchants who know this town, walk the town.”

“Let’s get her done and then look at this more stepwise rather than taking on another big project that, frankly, we don’t have time for,” she said.