Permits & Legal Spaces by Zone

April 18th, 2018

RED/Zone 1: 343 564 (medium priority)
GREEN/Zone 2: 253 414 (high priority)
ORANGE/Zone 3: 54 170
YELLOW/Zone 4: 187 275(*) (high priority)
BLUE/Zone 5: 218 361
(*) 275 represents a slight increase in the number of legal spaces in this zone compared to the start of this analysis. That is a result of the sign inventory which allowed for increased opportunities within this zone previously unused by residents.

An analysis of the data above resulted in the following recommendations: The Red/1 Zone could be expanded into the north side of the 800 block of Linden Street, resulting in an additional 13 spaces for use by residents. Walnut Street from 9th to Fountain could be added to Yellow/4 Zone to allow for 12 additional spaces. Walnut Street from Fountain to 10th currently includes 4(*) active commercial enterprises and we would not recommend expansion into that half-block as a result (*When the analysis began in April, 5 businesses were in that half-block which removed that block from our consideration. As we completed our analysis, we re-visited many of these areas to reconfirm data, and we noted the loss of one business on that block.).

Once the field work was completed and priorities were established, the staff then turned its attention to the results of a user survey conducted during this time period. When the analysis began, just over 1000 customers had active RPP permits. Of those, we had email addresses for just under 700 customers whom we invited, via email, to respond to a survey. 106 responses were received. Pertinent to this topic, we ascertained the following:

Only 21% of responding customers indicated that ample parking existed on their street after 6 pm on weekdays (35% responded ‘sometimes’ and 43% responded ‘never’)
When asked if sufficient parking exists on their street on weekends, 45% said ‘rarely/never’ and only 24% said ‘yes’
Approximately 1/3 of permit holder’s households contain a vehicle that does not have a permit
62% of respondents would like their guests to have access to discounted parking
(Staff continues to develop a revised Visitors permit process in an attempt to balance residents’ desire for discounted parking for their guests, while at the same time recognizing their self-stated belief of a lack of parking in their neighborhood. This new process will be launched by the end of Summer 2015 to permit holders. Currently, the new permit allows for permit holders to purchase visitor permits for after 5 pm guests and weekend guests. The current thought process provides for each permit holder to purchase 3 of each permit per month, but the potential impact of this continues to be evaluated.)

Staff then turned its attention to the parking meters within the priority zones to determine necessity. We used the information from the field study to evaluate the need for commercial turnover and to determine current parking patterns. We then compared this information with the insight from the meter collector regarding paid occupancy at these meters. (Financial information is not maintained from every meter, but rather from a ‘beat’ of meters.) Reviewing all of this data resulted in our official recommendation to remove 86 meters from within 3 different zones. The recommended removal of these meters is bolstered by the high occupancy rate of permit holders:

500 block Walnut: 89%
00 S 12: 94%
00 N and S 11: 88%/98%
1000 Linden: 75%
1000 Walnut: 65%
1100 Walnut: 64%
APA would recommend that a commensurate time zone be installed after meter removal. For instance, the 500 block of Walnut Street has 3-hour meters and the 00 S 12 has 2 hour meters. We would recommend removal of these unnecessary meters and replace with time zones.

The bottom line impact to residents in each of these zones is demonstrated below. Please note that the additional parking gained as a result of removal of meters is noted simply as one additional space. It is quite likely that the end result will actually be much higher than 1 for 1, as meter spaces are 22’ in length and without the meter designating this spatial requirement, more cars can park on those block faces.

Number of spaces impacted by this analysis:
RED/1: 13
GREEN/2: 0
ORANGE/3: 4
YELLOW/4: 70
BLUE/5: 48

While the ‘Green/2’ zone cannot be currently expanded, the newly designed visitors permit is an important enhancement for residents in this area.

On August 18, these recommendations were presented in PowerPoint format to the Public Works Committee of City Council. There was enthusiastic support for the presentation and the recommendations from Committee members. The bill to revise legislation with these recommendations was forwarded positively by a vote of 2 – 0.