DATE: February 23, 2016
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT
Title
Downtown Parking Study - Draft Report
End
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
That Council reviews and provides comments on proposed parking demand management strategies for Downtown Hayward.
Body
BACKGROUND
In fall of 2014, Hayward staff was notified that BART would begin implementation of paid parking at the Hayward BART station. In response, staff developed various short term strategies to mitigate potential impacts to the Downtown parking areas.
Several policy options were evaluated to determine how parking might be managed in response to potential increases in demand within a quarter to one half mile of the BART station. Staff also reviewed case studies from other jurisdictions (e.g. Union City, San Leandro and Dublin) where BART implemented parking charges to identify possible unanticipated impacts and/or mitigation measures. As a result, the following “interim” strategies were presented to Council and implemented in December 2014.
Adopted “Interim” Parking Demand Management Strategies
• Designate and enforce 4-hour parking restrictions in the City Hall parking structure between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM on weekdays. City employees parking in the structure will receive temporary parking permits for this garage.
• Designate and enforce 2-hour “time limit” parking from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM for on-street parking within a quarter mile radius of the Downtown Hayward BART station.
• Designate and enforce 4-hour time restrictions for the commercial and residential areas west of the BART station (along A, B, C, Claire and Alice Streets) between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM on weekdays
• Improve enforcement to ensure that time restrictions are being observed
Apart from the interim strategies that were implemented, it was recognized that long-term, comprehensive parking policies would be critical to the growth and development of the Downtown area. In order to identify these strategies and make the best use of available resources, the consulting firm, CDM Smith (CDM), was selected to work with staff to conduct a more focused analysis of parking supply and demand in Downtown Hayward, with the goal of developing long term strategies and policies. Separately, Hayward was one of a limited number of local agencies selected by MTC as part of a comprehensive evaluation of parking policies in the nine county Bay Area region. Staff took advantage of this regional effort as a mechanism to jump start a more focused assessment of Downtown parking needs by utilizing the data gathered from MTC’s sanctioned study.
DISCUSSION
The primary focus of the Downtown Parking Study was to understand how existing regulations align with current parking demand, and propose updates to those regulations/strategies in order to improve parking demand management in the Downtown area. Proposed strategies that were included in the overall discussion included time restrictions, permits for residents and employers/employees, and options for future pricing implementation.
Generally, areas with higher demand should have shorter time restrictions for parking; the shorter time restrictions are in place to increase the turnover rate, making these spaces available to accommodate more patrons of local businesses. Areas with lower demand should have fewer restrictions with longer term parking available. Occupancy that is 65% or lower is considered “underutilized,” meaning that these areas should have relatively low restrictions. Occupancy that is over 85% is considered “fully utilized,” while occupancy over 95% is considered “over utilized.”
While the study primarily focused on peak period occupancy, hot spots of high demand during off peak periods were also evaluated. In Downtown Hayward, the Midday period (12:00 PM) consistently displayed the highest parking occupancy. Parking occupancy is particularly highest along the B Street corridor from Montgomery Avenue to Foothill Boulevard as well as on A Street and C Street from Grant Street to Filbert Street (see Attachment I). Outside of these areas, there are several other block faces that have occupancy above 85%, but typically they are isolated and have adjacent block faces with underutilized parking.
As shown in Attachment II, there are two zones of high demand within the Downtown study area that have differing needs and considerations. The Downtown area has a high demand for customer parking as well as the need for long-term employee parking. The mixed commercial and residential areas just west of the BART Station have high demand primarily for long-term resident parking.
Staff Recommendations - Staff recommendations are divided into Phase I and Phase II. Phase I is defined as the following recommended one-year program.Phase II is defined as subsequent modification to Downtown parking regulations based on the results from Phase I.
Phase I:
A. At this time, it is recommended that parking restrictions be largely limited to the two high-demand areas defined above, which will allow for clear recommendations and provide options for unrestricted parking in areas located further away from the Downtown core and BART station area where demand is lower. .
B. Additional staff recommendations address the overall parking needs around the Downtown business corridor and residential neighborhood(s) in the Downtown area.
• As part of a one year pilot program, staff recommends that on-street priced parking be initiated in corridors of highest demand within Zone 1, along B Street from Foothill Blvd to Montgomery (see Attachment III), while eliminating time restrictions along the same corridor. The cost for parking within the priced parking area would increase hourly based on the amount of time a car has been parked in the area, which discourages long-term parking. It also gives those seeking short-term parking access to Downtown at either no cost or a very nominal rate. The end goal is to see a more even distribution of parking around Downtown and see less congestion along certain corridors, such as B Street.
• To further increase flexibility and limit the amount of physical and costly changes to existing infrastructure, the pilot program will utilize multi-space pay stations, mobile payment, and License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology for payment collection and enforcement. Multi-space pay stations will provide the least intrusive changes to existing infrastructure on a per-block basis while allowing for payment with credit card or cash for those not accessing mobile technology
• The pilot program will monitor seventy-four standard spaces located on B Street between Foothill Boulevard and Montgomery Street during Phase 1. A free Downtown parking program for merchants and employees is recommended at this time, to shift long-term employee parking away from the highly utilized on-street parking facilities along the B Street corridor. Data analysis showed consistently high occupancy rates along on-street parking facilities, but low rates at off-street parking facilities. Free merchant/employee parking permits should be valid at multiple municipal parking lots.
• If the pilot program is implemented, the City will provide a series of educational materials explaining existing conditions, parking options available, and why priced parking and permits have been adopted.
• Staff would initiate a coordinated wayfinding system to more easily direct visitors to free public parking lots.
• Time restricted parking should continue along A Street, B and C streets west of Grand Street, D Street, and Foothill Blvd. Increased enforcement should be implemented throughout the Downtown to reduce over parking and increase compliance.
• A new Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) system for Downtown Hayward should be implemented in the neighborhood(s) adjacent to the Hayward BART station, as well as nearby spillover zones. The residential area bordering the Downtown commercial area and immediately adjacent to the Hayward BART Station are routinely impacted by daily parking activity, commuters who opt to park on-street to avoid BART parking fees, or those who spill over due to parking constraints in the nearby commercial and residential areas.
• A critical component for success of the program is enforcement. The final report will present staffing needs and costs to effectively enforce recommendations in Phase I, along with potential revenue generated from parking fees and citations. The report will also evaluate what may be needed in subsequent phases.
At the conclusion of the year-long pilot program, the impacts from Phase 1will be evaluated and brought before Council for further consideration. At the end of the pilot program, Council will have the options to:
• Sunset the program and adopt potential alternative management strategies; or
• Extend the program indefinitely, by adopting it into City code; and
• Implement Phase 2
Phase II:
Phase 2 could include the following components:
• If use patterns warrant it, expand priced parking to areas of high demand. This expanded area could include B Street from Montgomery to Grand Street, Main Street between A and C streets, and Watkins Street between B and C streets, adjacent to the new library.
• Implementation of smart meters and elimination of time limits on side streets adjacent to B Street from Foothill Blvd to Grand Street.
• Implementation of pay station systems at the City Hall and Cinema garages, to include Real-Time Parking Information, and/or
• Implementation of pay station systems for the Municipal surface parking lots and garages.
FISCAL IMPACT
City staff has been successful in obtaining a grant from MTC to implement Phase 1 of the Pilot Parking Program as described above. The grant amount of $438,000 ($100,000 in City local match) covers the purchase of pricing and enforcement technology, education programs and wayfinding signage. Phase 1 costs are included in this detailed grant proposal, which will be the City of Hayward’s first implementation of on-street pricing in several decades. The technology purchased will be the City’s to retain regardless of whether the pilot program implemented in Phase I continues past the pilot phase. This is a good opportunity for the City to acquire this equipment using grant funds.
The implementation of paid parking is the major component of the grant received from MTC. If the pilot related to paid parking is not adopted/implemented, the City will have to forfeit the grant. Without regard to the MTC grant, the City can move forward with formalizing time restrictions in the Downtown as a method of parking management and implementation of both employee/employer and residential parking permits.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Staff presented results of the preliminary parking analysis to the Council Economic Development Committee (CEDC) on April 6, 2015. The CEDC commented on the need to balance the needs of Downtown merchants, employees, and patrons, while providing flexibility to meet parking needs. Included in those suggestions was the possibility of unbundling parking requirements from new developments, considering the need for increasing Downtown parking supply, and enacting stricter parking limits for heavily impacted areas where parking demand is high (such as B & Main Streets). The CEDC also commented that if parking fees were implemented, the primary goal of the fees should be to manage supply and demand, and to cover the cost of enforcement.
In October 2016, staff solicited comments from visitors to the Downtown area on a Friday night and a Saturday during the Farmers Market via survey; 134 surveys were completed. In addition, a more detailed survey was posted on-line on the City’s website, Facebook page, the social network Nextdoor, and disseminated via e-mail. The survey, posted in both English and Spanish, targeted those who work in Downtown, visit Downtown, and/or live in Downtown. A key element of the outreach strategy was to work with residents and business owners to identify critical issues and gauge reaction to potential new approaches such as pricing and parking management. Approximately 840 on-line surveys were filled out and submitted.
For the long term, a more comprehensive assessment of parking will be undertaken as part of the Downtown Specific Plan. The strategies put in place as part of this effort are to manage existing parking demand and supply and to explore options and alternatives and understand their limitations and impacts. The Downtown Specific Plan will address issues such as unbundling of parking for residential developments, the potential redevelopment of the municipal lots, a determination of the need for future parking supply as the Downtown grows, and metrics as to what level of development would trigger the need for additional capacity. This study and its recommendations will be the starting point for that longer term and broader discussion.
NEXT STEPS
If Council decides to authorize the City Manager to proceed with implementing the pilot pricing program along the B Street corridor as discussed, MTC is requiring that all grantees adopt a resolution no later than April 1, 2016. As such, if Council concurs with the adoption of the Phase 1 pilot pricing program, an item would be placed on the March 22, 2016 agenda for Council adoption
In addition, the final report will include a detailed financial analysis outlining revenues, capital needs, and operating costs for a more robust parking management and enforcement component. This effort will outline the steps necessary to combine parking enforcement and management activities citywide relative to necessary staffing, anticipated revenues, and operating/capital outlays. Specifically, combining the citywide RPP program with the Downtown RPP and the South Hayward JPA will be the focal point of the analysis. The report will discuss the potential creation of a more formal parking management and enforcement component within the municipal organization, and outline costs and anticipated revenues associated with such a coordinated enforcement effort. Following receipt of feedback by Council, staff will finalize the comments in a final Downtown parking management plan report for Council review and possible adoption this fall.
Prepared by: Fred Kelley, Transportation Manager
Staff contact
Recommended by: Morad Fakhrai, Director of Public Works
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Approved by:
Fran David, City Manager
Attachments:
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Attachment I (a) |
Peak Parking Occupancy Map |
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Attachment I (b) |
Peak Parking Occupancy Map |
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Attachment I (c) |
Peak Parking Occupancy Map |
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Attachment II |
Parking Regulation Zones |
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Attachment III |
Proposed Parking Regulations |