The

Downtown Parking

Management Plan

Part of the Downtown

Specific Plan Update

• Parking Management

Plan – Underway

• Synoptic Survey -

Underway

• Update the Downtown

Zoning and Codes

• Modify Other Downtown

Specific Plan Sections

Improve Access and Parking Downtown

Improve Car, Bike and Pedestrian Mobility

Make the Downtown a Magnet for People

• Develop and deploy the policies, programs and

actions that will result in a more efficient and effective

access to and use of parking resources and access

for motorists, bicyclists, and pedestrians throughout

the Downtown.

The Mission

1. Context

2. Parking Demand

3. Parking Supply

4. Parking Utilization

5. Assessment

6. Strategies and Measures

The Parts of the Plan

The Physical Context

North Street

Lincoln Street

East S

treet

Cle

vela

nd S

treet

Main Street

Main Street

• Distance: People will walk 1000 feet or more to shop and

to a worthy destination - if the route is safe, comfortable,

convenient and relatively attractive.

Physical Context Considerations

Park

here

Overly narrow or obstructed sidewalks

Inadequate tree canopies

• Inadequate lighting on some north-south streets and

public lots constrains pedestrian use because of safety

and security concerns, particularly in the late fall, winter

and early spring evenings.

Inadequate Street / Parking Lot Lighting

Inadequate Pedestrian Street Lighting

• The Pathway: Walking by empty and boring storefronts

and lots make the trip tedious and inconvenient.

Inadequately shaded sidewalks make parking and

walking uncomfortable in the summer.

Physical Context Considerations

• Inadequate, confusing, unattractive and misplaced

signage frustrates drivers and pedestrians.

Public and Private Signs

The People Context: Interviews

Interviews

Responses:

• Add Diagonal

Parking

• Slow Traffic Speeds

• Add Stop Signs

• Add Parking Permits

• Need a Parking

Garage

• Inadequate Street

Lighting

Businesses Responses

• Add Diagonal Parking – Yes, need more on-street

• Traffic Speeds – Mixed, but slower is better

• Add Stop Signs – Mixed, but not if it diverts traffic

• Add Parking Permits – Yes and no

• Need Parking Garage – Yes

• Lighting Adequacy – Not good, a major deterrent

• Other - Some employees use core spaces and move

their vehicles every two hours to avoid citations.

• Other - Keep parking free with two-hour or longer limits

where necessary for on-street parking and lots.

• The new eight screen cinema will attract motorist

who seek parking within walking distance of the

theater, particularly during evenings and weekends.

• Each new Downtown commercial and residential

development will likely increase parking demands.

• Millennials and younger, less car dependent, will

reduce parking demands – if walking is an option.

• Autonomous private vehicles should reduce parking

demand, but when and by how much?

• Similarly, autonomous transit or just better transit

will reduce demand, but when and by how much?

Context: Parking Trends

Parking Demand:

What Drives It?

Auto-Dependency, Inadequate Transit

Perception or Reality: Insufficient or

Inconvenient Public Parking

Minimum Parking Requirements

Multifamily:

Studio: one space per unit

1 bedroom: one space per unit

2 bedroom: one and three-quarter spaces per unit

3+ bedroom: two spaces per unit.

(D) Offices (except medical offices and clinics): one space

for each four hundred square feet of gross floor area;

(E) Retail stores, banks: one space for each three

hundred square feet of gross floor area;

(F) Restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, bars and

establishments with on-site alcohol sales: one space for

each three hundred square feet of gross floor area;

Parking Demand:

How Many Public Spaces Required?

2017 Public Parking Demand*

• Weekday Daytime Parking Demand: 758 spaces

• Weekday Evening Parking Demand: 482 spaces

• Weekend Daytime Parking Demand: 525 spaces

• Weekend Evening Parking Demand: 556 spaces

Average Weekday + Weekend Demand: 580 spaces

Peak Weekday + Weekend Demand: 758 spaces

• *Combined on street and off street public parking,

based on multiple recorded observations on January

and February 2017.

Ten Year Estimated Demand: Opportunity Sites

Other

Ten Year

Estimated

Public Parking

Demand With

Infill and

Redevelopment:

334 Non-

Residential

Spaces

Required

At 30% Public:

100 Public

Spaces

Required

2027 Public Parking Demand

2017 Average Demand: 580 spaces

2017 Peak Demand: 758 spaces

2027 Additional 100 spaces

2027 Average Demand: 680 spaces

2027 Peak Demand: 858 spaces

Public Parking Supply

The number of Downtown on-street

and public parking lot spaces

The Inventory: Walking and Counting

584 On-Street Spaces

1,044

Public

Parking

Lot

Spaces

Total Public Parking Supply

584 On-Street + 1044 Lot Spaces =

1,628 Public Spaces

Supply vs. Peak Demand

• 2017 Peak Parking Demand: 758 spaces

• 2027 Peak Parking Demand: 858 spaces

• 2017 On-Street + Public Lot Supply: 1,628 spaces

• 2017 Supply – Peak Demand Total: + 870 spaces

• 2027 Supply – Peak Demand Total: + 770 spaces

More than enough parking spaces – but

where are they and how are they used?

Public Parking Utilization

The total occupancy of on-street and public

parking lots during peak hourly periods - noon to

1:00 PM and 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM, weekdays and

weekends - a primary measure of parking usage,

an indicator of driver parking preferences and

behaviors during maximum use times.

Utilization:

Walking and Counting

Six Periods, Weekday

and Weekend

On-Street Utilization

Peak Occupancies

Main StreetFifth / Sixth

Peak Occupancies

Main / Court / LincolnCollege / First

Cross / Pendegast

On-Street UtilizationPublic Lot Utilization

Peak Occupancies Lots on Both Sides of Main

Main Street7

8 9

5 6

Utilization Averages:

• Weekday Noon to 1:00 PM: 44%

• Weekday 7:00 to 8:00 PM: 31%

• Weekend Noon to 1:00 PM: 34%

• Weekend 7:00 to 8:00 PM: 36%

Weekday + Weekend: 39%

Public Parking Utilization

2017 utilization 39% x 1,628 spaces:

635 spaces used on average

Assessment

The following evaluation or assessment of the

physical conditions, the Context, Inventory,

Demand, and Utilization investigations, and public

engagement, precedes the formulation of

recommended measures.

• The Downtown contains more than enough public

parking spaces but motorists use less than half!

• Some park-and-walk routes appear unsafe,

uncomfortable, inconvenient or just to far to walk to.

• A primary constraint after sundown is an inadequacy of

lighting on some north-south streets and in public lots.

• Some sidewalks front on empty, boring storefronts & lots

• Discomfort of inadequately shaded sidewalks and lots

• Inadequate, confusing, unattractive and misplaced public

and private signage. How can you find a parking lot?

Assessment of Physical Conditions

• Retailers want more on-street parking or lots close by

• Excessive traffic speeds – reduce below 25 mph

• Stop signs at Main Street may divert shopper traffic

• Parking limits inconsistent with Downtown venues

• Parking permits require management and enforcement

• Add a parking garage if other parking actions fail

• Improve lighting by innovative means (e.g., on buildings)

• Employees use core spaces so better lighting will help

• Free parking now, later consider fee-based parking

• Use excess private parking through Shared Parking Plan

Assessment of Stakeholder Input

Recommended Parking

Management

Strategies and Measures

Create a Park Once and Walk District

Measures: Increase public sidewalks widths to maintain

widths that accommodate people walking together.

• Remove obstructions such as sign posts in the pathway.

– Add a sidewalk improvement plan to City capital

improvement projects list.

– Collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce and the

Historic Downtown Woodland Group to help.

Increase sidewalk width

Measures: Improve street and parking lot lighting by

installing lights on exterior building walls and other locations

to increase illumination on sidewalks and public parking

areas.

– Collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce and

the Historic Downtown Woodland Group to help

add exterior lighting at under-illuminated areas.

– Work with building

owners to replace

existing, inefficient

luminaires with LEDs

and to add new

photovoltaic lighting

to avoid wiring new

luminaires and to

save energy costs.

Measures: Increase shade tree canopy

– Collaborate with City Arborist and local groups to

add appropriate trees and maintain existing stock.

– Work with property owners to help add shade trees

on the front of their properties.

Measures: Infill empty lots and redevelopment underutilized

sites.

– Collaborate with the Chamber of Commerce and

the Historic Downtown Woodland Group to help

with infill and redevelopment incentives.

– Incentivize infill and redevelopment with the new

citywide up-zoning process

Measures: Improve public and private signage:

– Update and deploy a Downtown Signage Plan.

– Incorporate new a signage ordinance into the

Downtown design and development standards.

Measure: add diagonal parking on

the west side of 2nd Street between

Main Street and Lincoln Street.

Measure: Calibrate the allowed time duration of on-street

parking and public lot spaces to match business demands.

– For example, new cinema attendees will require

three-hour parking spaces for most shows.

– Incentivize business employees to park away from

prime shopping spaces.

– Consider employee or neighborhood parking

permits, which require additional management to

administer and enforce, if shared private parking

and better lighting on non-timed street parking fail

to satisfy parking needs

3

Measures: Develop shared parking agreements or plans for

business and employee parking in underutilize private lots.

– Shared parking is a transaction between different

land uses (a bank, a theater and a bar or

restaurant) that contain off-street parking and

different periods of parking demand, to allow the

use of unused parking spaces by another that

needs the excess parking.

– Work with Chamber of Commerce and the Historic

Downtown Woodland Group to create a plan.

0100200300400500600700800

Park

ing

Sp

aces U

sed

Time of Day

Retail Parking Utilization

Retail

0

100

200

300

400

500

600P

ark

ing

Sp

aces U

sed

Time of Day

Residential Parking Utilization

Residential

Over 1,000 spaces are available (2,937 total private spaces).

– Shared parking allows a use to reduce the amount of

parking normally required if two or more uses have peak

demand at different times of day or day of week.

– Liability insurance coverage is available and can be

incorporated into the shared parking agreements.

0200400600800

1000120014001600

Park

ing

Sp

aces U

sed

Time of Day

Shared Parking Utilization

Office

Residential

Retail

Restaurant

• Individual lot owners can create cross parking agreements or

a private parking management company can broker

agreements between users.

• Determine the number of spaces a business or lot owner will

provide by day and time period – the supply – and the

number of spaces a business needs for customers or

employees by day and time period – the demand.

• Create a shared lot

parking map and

schedule.

• Match suppliers with

potential users. Bring

the parties together to

work out specific

agreements.

Other Recommended Measures

• Use Transportation Demand

Management (TDM)

strategies to reduce travel

demand or redistribute

demand in space or time, for

example, providing better

transit options within and to

and from Downtown.

•• Change signal light timing

on Main Street to slow

traffic to below 25. 18-20

mph is an optimum speed

for traffic flow and best

viewing of storefronts and

parking spaces.

Recommend holding off replacing signal lights with stop

signs on Main Street in favor of signal light timing.

Brief analysis: stop signs on the short blocks can cause

backups and vehicles to divert to Court and Lincoln. It can

be tested using flashing red signals over longer period.

Recommend that a Parking Garage is not necessary

• As of March 2014, the median

construction cost for a new parking

structure is $18,038 per space.

• It’s more cost effective to improve the

existing parking and access routes.

• Autonomous vehicles will reduce

parking demands.

• The Downtown contains enough parking provided that

access to on-street and public lots is safe, convenient,

attractive, and comfortable.

• Re

Next Steps