Title
Scope for Parking Studies for Downtown and College Park/University Heights (NB)
Explanation
As Downtown and College Park/University Heights continue to redevelop, the demand for parking in these areas is expected to increase. In order to accommodate a high demand for parking while maintaining the urban charm and pedestrian scale of these districts, special consideration and analysis is needed to develop a framework in which to manage parking and redevelopment in each area. The proposed parking study will be comprised of two separate analyses, examining both the Downtown and the College Park/University Heights districts. This study will not be conceptual in nature. It will result in individualized strategies for each district to implement regarding existing parking, the need/potential for future parking, and best management policies which will allow parking resources to function as efficiently as possible. The goal of the study is primarily to identify strategies that will enable the utilization of existing parking to its fullest extent. Additionally, the study will provide insight regarding the placement, type, design, and management for any new facilities, if needed.
Specific items to be addressed in the Downtown Redevelopment Area include: an inventory and assessment of existing parking demand (including both weekday and evening/weekend demand); examination of how to best manage on-street surface parking, including location, design, price, time limits, alternative meter/payment options, and enforcement; identification of improved administration strategies which will increase the effectiveness and efficiency of parking spaces; determination of the need for new parking infrastructure; analysis of institutional/governmental parking to determine how these space might be utilized during non-office hours; identification of potential sites to accommodate structured parking, if needed; identification of goals/purpose for on-street and structured parking and recommendations for administrative techniques which will accomplish these goals; development of design standards which will guide new development to provide parking in innovative ways that will compliment the urban fabric of Downtown (possibilities include public/private partnerships, design guidelines requiring parking to be located on the interior of a development, thus invisible from the street, and special design or mixed-use requirements for stand-alone parking structures which makes these structures blend seamlessly with the surrounding pedestrian-friendly environment.)
Items to be addressed in College Park/University Heights include: identification of current and projected parking demand, including the number of additional spaces necessary to meet parking demand, if any; suggestions for new pricing techniques; exploring the use of decal zones, and increasing the number of these zones to create smaller parking areas that will discourage the "shuffling" of cars throughout a neighborhood; determination of potential areas where on street parallel or angled parking could be installed; identification of potential parcels large enough to accommodate structured parking; development of design standards which will guide new development to provide parking in innovative ways that will compliment the urban fabric of CPUH; proposed administrative techniques that will encourage developers to provide more on-street parking; recommendations for management strategies to structure and enforce a parking framework in order to maximize efficiency of existing parking; and the identification of goals/purpose for on-street and structured parking and recommendations for administrative techniques which will accomplish these goals.
Fiscal Note
$25,000 is currently budgeted in DRAB account #610-790-W229-5520 (Project Related Professional Services - Parking Study), and $50,000 in CPUH account #618-790-W741-5520 (Parking Management).
Recommendation
Executive Director to the CRA: 1) Authorize staff to issue a Request For Proposals for parking services.