HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda Report - May 7, 1997s
y, 3l CITY OF LODI COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
AGENDA TITLE: Parking Limits in the Downtown Area
MEETING DATE: May 7, 1997
PREPARED BY: Public Works Director
RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the City Council direct staff to prepare the necessary ordinance and
traffic resolution amendments to implement Downtown parking limit changes.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Of the many ideas and concepts discussed as part of the
development of the Central City Revitalization Plan, one controversial
recommendation NOT included in the final concept plan was the
implementation of 30 -minute parking limits on School Street.
The recommendation was based on the emphasis toward specialty and convenience retail uses and to
encourage use of the surface parking lots for more long-term parking with the thought that eventually a
parking structure would be needed.
Since the adoption of the Plan, staff has continued to receive comments from Downtown merchants
and patrons on parking issues. These include:
• Lack of short-term on -street parking — This is particularly acute where service oriented businesses
such as repair shops, are located near restaurants or high employment businesses where patrons
or employees park on street for extended periods of time.
• Lack of employee parking — While parking permits are available at a cost of $30 for three months,
this is a problem for part-time employees or other low wage employees who do not feel the
additional expense to park is justified.
• Enforcement — Staff has received comments on both sides of this issue. Some feel that a high
level of enforcement is needed to keep employees and business owners from using too much on -
street parking. Others feel enforcement discourages customers from coming to Downtown.
To address these issues, staff has met on numerous occasions with Downtown merchants, both
individually and collectively, and has discussed a number of ideas and concepts. The newspaper has
published an article about possible changes and the City's Revitalization Construction Coordinator has
surveyed the Downtown businesses.
On Monday, April 28, 1997, at the Lodi Downtown Business Association's general membership
meeting, staff presented the results of the survey and a tentative recommendation. It was the
consensus of the approximately 45 people attending the meeting that we proceed with the
recommendations listed below.
APPROVED:
H. Dixon Flynn -- City Manager
COWNTNPK 04!30/97
Parking Limits in the Downtown Area
May 7, 1997
Page 2
Recommendations
1. That a limited number of 30 -minute parking stalls be established — The survey results showed that
about forty percent of the businesses are in favor of having some short-term parking available on
street. (Exhibit A). Staff recommends this be located at the most convenient locations for ease of
parking. This means any of the diagonal stalls or parallel stalls not located between two tree wells,
such as those next to an alley approach or driveway where there is additional length to maneuver.
2. That the designated stalls be located when: they will do the most good and not be "set in concrete"
— The present City ordinance governing parking restrictions requires that every parking limit,
including those for the Downtown parking lots, be decided upon by the City Council. To be more
responsive and efficient, this authority could be delegated to staff. In the future, if a formal
Downtown Business Improvement Area was established, a separate governing board would be
established and this. parking authority could be one of that board's functions. Of course, as with any
staff decision, the City Council would still retain ultimate authority in the event of appeals or other
questions on staff's actions. Staff's initial recommendation is for designating 30 -minute parking on
20 stalls out of the 174 available in the nine blocks being considered at this time (Exhibit B). These
would be implemented as Downtown construction is completed.
In addition, the limited parking signs would be installed in the tree wells, where they could be easily
moved. Thus, they would literally not be set in concrete as are the other parking limit signs installed
in the sidewalk.
3. That some additional all -day parking stalls be designated — Along with managing the on -street
parking limits, staff should be able to work with the stalls in the Downtown parking lots to attempt to
provide a mix of parking limits meeting the needs of both business owners/employees and
customers. This will require a change in the ordinance and traffic resolution similar to that of the on -
street parking. It will also require more monitoring and "tweaking" to make the most efficient use of
the available parking stalls. Initially, staff proposed to convert some of the underutilized two-hour
and permit stalls in the outlying lots to free, all -day parking. Additional information on these
changes will be presented at the Council meeting.
Pending Council direction, staff will prepare the necessary changes to the City Code and Traffic Resolution
for formal action.
FUNDING: None needed at this time.
Jac L. Ronsko
Publk Works Director
Prepared by Richard C. Prima, Jr., City Engineer
JLR/RCP/Im
Attachments
cc: Downtown Businesses
Cdwntnpk 4/30/97
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Exhibit A
LEGEND:
SHORT — TERM
PARKING
YES (36)
NO (46)
L66ti H :60 :N OE Jdtl P@M 9NHdHOS\AHISAI0\ :r!
Exhibit B ]
PROPOSED 30 MIN.
PARKING STALLS