At its December 3, 2013 meeting, the Davis City Council will hold a workshop on the Downtown Parking Management Plan. Staff will then return in February or so to seek council direction on formal action.
In October 2012, the council appointed a Downtown Parking Task Force to “identify issues and solutions for addressing downtown parking issues including identifying short-, mid-, and long-term actions to address parking management and supply.”
It held monthly meetings from December 2012 to October 2013 – ten in total – to “collaboratively develop a parking management plan that effectively addresses the relationship between a healthy downtown and vehicular parking.”
The task force developed a total of 19 recommendations. The task force voted unanimously (with one member absent) to forward the package of recommendations to the city council.
They argue, “Not all downtown parking spaces are created equal. Some parking spaces are much better suited to provide easy access for patrons who wish to make relatively quick stops in downtown, and for whom convenience is a key consideration in whether they visit downtown or some other nearby location. Other spaces are more appropriate for business owners or employees, who need a place to park their car and leave it for the entire day, for whom the cost of long-term parking may be a key consideration, rather than convenience.”
“The Task Force recommendations, one of which includes expanding paid parking, will create the potential to improve on our current system, by better aligning the different user groups with the characteristics of the parking spaces that they use,” they write. “Task Force recommendations will help to ensure convenient spaces are easily accessible for shoppers with short-term parking needs, in the area where the greatest concentration of retail and service businesses who depend on this type of parking access exists.”
Here are the recommendations:
- Recommendation #1: Establish paid parking in Southeast Quadrant.
- Recommendation #2: Increase employee parking location options.
- Recommendation #3: Increase employee permit fees and streamline employee parking to single “X” permit.
- Recommendation #4: Convert Amtrak Lot to paid parking.
- Recommendation #5: Restrict delivery vehicle double-parking between 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. for the area bounded by Second Street, Fourth Street, D Street and G Street (data could be used to refine limitations over time).
- Recommendation #6: Eliminate on-street green waste in downtown for the area bounded by First Street, Fifth Street, B Street, and the railroad tracks.
- Recommendation #7: Shift parking enforcement hours to 10:00 a.m. 8:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday.
- Recommendation #8: Establish tiered-fine citation system.
- Recommendation #9: Upgrade parking enforcement technology.
- Recommendation #10: Invest in electronic information systems.
- Recommendation #11: Develop transportation and parking alternatives campaign.
- Recommendation #12: Collect quarterly parking occupancy and turnover data.
- Recommendation #13: Explore voluntary private shared-parking district.
- Recommendation #14: Provide van-accessible parking upon street resurfacing.
- Recommendation #15: Streetscape improvements.
- Recommendation #16: Expand parking supply.
- Recommendation #17: Provide administrative resources necessary for successful implementation of the Downtown Parking Management Plan.
- Recommendation #18: Improve transit options into downtown.
- Recommendation #19: Re-examine parking in-lieu parking fee policies and procedures.
“The proposed recommendations will significantly change how parking is managed in the downtown,” the task force argues. “These are based on a deliberate process driven by data, literature review, public input, case studies, and task force members’ acquired understanding of parking principles and best management practices. The task force balanced the many interests of downtown users and stakeholders, carefully considering input from the Davis business community.”
As the task force explained in their executive summary, “The recommendations presented in this report should be considered an integrated package, intended for coordinated implementation. Many recommendations have cause-and-effect and push/pull relationships that, if separated from the package, may result in less than optimal results.”
The task force adds, “Additionally, adequate time must be allowed for implementation to occur and for the community and visitors to adjust to the changes. For successful implementation, the City will need to consider organizational changes to the parking management program. Administration changes could include staffing levels, enforcement routes, internal information systems, data security, citation issuance, coin management protocols, and roles and responsibilities. Changes to parking management could include a comprehensive parking management system that integrates citations, permits, meters, and sensors.
They note, “While the package of recommendations is within the City’s ability to implement, additional human resources will be required to execute, monitor, and maintain. As a result, growing pains may occur as Davis modernizes its approach to parking management, specifically if adequate resources are not allocated.”
It is time to integrate the public input process into the proposed changes. The full task force report is available at: Task Force report.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
Hello David,
I like the photo that you use with this article. I don’t believe Davis has a parking problem. Re: paid parking, when I visit Davis, if I have to pay for parking, I’ll take my dollars elsewhere.
I have a friend who owned a restaurant in San Francisco. When the city raised the parking meter costs, he closed his restaurant. Too many customers told him it was too inconvenient and expensive to eat lunch there, and feed the meter. He had a very reasonably priced menu. I understand Davis is not San Francisco.
A few years ago, someone at a city council meeting stated that women complained they had to walk a few blocks in the rain, with their children, to get to her store. Maybe kids need to walk in the rain for a few blocks. For the few cold and rainy days, give your kids mittens and an umbrella. On the hot days, keep hydrated. I walked all over downtown Davis with 2 toddlers in the 1990’s. They enjoyed it. If they complained too much, we went home to nap. In Davis, I saw 4 year olds, with no physical disability, being pushed around in strollers. (I know their parents, so I can say this with confidence.) Just walk a few blocks. Davis is a very pleasant town to walk around. Save the parking in front of stores for the elderly and the physically challenged. Ride your bike more. Your town doesn’t need any more parking. Slow down, so you don’t have to rush into a store. Then you won’t need to demand more parking when you have to rush to buy just a few things. Maybe the solution is to stop rushing.