HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/21/2023 Item 6a, Miller
From:Martha Miller <
To:E-mail Council Website; Pease, Andy; Marx, Jan; Shoresman, Michelle; Stewart, Erica A;
Francis, Emily
Subject:Item 6A Adoption of the 2023 Access and Parking Management Plan
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As part of the Access and Parking Management Plan, the City should revise the parking restrictions in the Residential
Parking Districts to allow short term (1 or 2 hour) parking without a permit from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm, consistent with
neighborhood parking programs in numerous other cities, including those cited in the City’s study of best practices.
There are 12 different Residential Parking Districts throughout the City. Nine of these districts prohibit parking in the
parking lane within the public right-of-way by anyone other than those with a parking permit during all or a majority of
the daytime hours. Permits are available to residents of the districts. They are also available to resident’s guests, but
arrangements must be made ahead of time.
This prohibition not only prevents public use of a public area maintained with public funds, it also prevents visitors from
being able to stop by a friend's house in the district without pre-arranging a permit.
My understanding is that when time limitations were discussed in the past, they were considered too expensive to
implement. I appreciate the sensitivity to fiscal responsibility and think that critical view should be applied to what it
costs to implement and maintain the program itself. There is the equivalent of 1,748 parking spaces within the districts.
Assuming a typical parking space is 200 sf (10x20), that is 8 acres of paved area maintained using public funds.
Prohibiting short term parking without a permit effectively reserves publicly owned and maintained area for the
exclusive use of residents and their personal guests for a cost of $20/year (the cost of the permit). The actual cost of
maintaining those 8 acres of paved area each year is passed on to the general public.
Staff has indicated the $20/year does not even cover the cost to administer the program. Not only is the administration
of a program that limits public use being subsidized by the public, the public is also paying to physically maintain it. $20
is the cost of a pizza. For the cost of one pizza, the City is maintaining and reserving public area for essentially the
exclusive use of private residents. Charging a modest amount for the permits, say $1/day, would generate funds to cover
the cost of enforcing short term parking allowances.
Additionally, staff has stated that within the year they will have tools and technology in place such that the enforcement
of the time limits would not be cost prohibitive, so cost is no longer a barrier.
City staff could also reach out to Walker Consultants as well as numerous cities with residential parking programs that
offer short term parking to understand how they are able to do it.
The suggested change is not intended to create parking issues for residents. It's intended to ensure parking availability
for residents in a more efficient and equitable manner. Allowing short term parking without a permit from 6:00 am to
10:00 pm strikes the right balance of enabling reasonable public use of the public right-of-way while ensuring parking
availability for area residents. Short-term parking limitations prevent non-residents from ‘parking and leaving’ vehicles
for long periods and ensures regular turnover of any parking space used by a non-resident.
To implement this change, please consider doing the following:
Adopt a revision to the Residential Parking Districts to allow short term (1 or 2 hour) parking without a permit
from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm, effective January 1, 2024.
Increase the cost of annual permits to $365/year ($1/day), effective January 1, 2024. Incorporate a fee waiver
for low- and very-low income households.
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Require a minimum number of permits to be purchased each year (60% of available permits). If this threshold is
not met two years in a row, the district is dissolved.
Between now and January 1, 2024, inform each parking district of the changes and require an affirmative vote of
60% of the affected residents to maintain the district.
For the districts that vote to remain, change the signs and begin enforcement.
Thank you,
Martha Miller
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