Memorandum

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

 

TO:

David L. Corliss, City Manager

 

FROM:

Jonathan Douglass, Assistant to the City Manager

 

CC:

Ron Olin, Chief of Police

Toni Wheeler, Legal Director

Roger Zalneraitis, Economic Development Coordinator/Planner

 

DATE:

June 4, 2009

 

RE:

Downtown Parking Proposal

 

 

The city has been in discussions with representatives of downtown Lawrence regarding changes to the downtown parking enforcement program. This memo will give background and staff analysis/recommendations regarding each point of the proposal. The revenue impact of each proposal has been predicted using a model developed by Economic Development Coordinator/Planner Roger Zalneraitis. The revenue impact of each proposal has been estimated individually assuming no other changes are made, assuming no decrease in demand for parking and no decreased issuances of overtime fines. The cumulative revenue impact of all the changes is estimated in the recommendation section of this memo.

 

In 2008 the city collected $378,837 from the parking meters and $479,484 in overtime fines. Those overtime fine collections were unusually high due to increased efforts to collect delinquent payments. For 2009 the city budgeted to receive $390,000 from meter collections and $360,000 from overtime fine collections. Representatives of downtown Lawrence have asked that additional revenues gained by making their proposed changes be used to continue downtown beautification efforts.

 

For additional information please see the attached downtown parking map and downtown parking lot capacity map. Michelle Stevens, City Manager’s Intern, surveyed various other mixed use downtowns that are somewhat similar to downtown Lawrence as well as shopping districts that are not traditional downtowns, but may compete with downtown Lawrence for retail customers. The survey results are attached.

 

Short Term Parking on Massachusetts Street

 

Proposal: On each side of each block of Massachusetts Street, add two parking stalls that would be metered at rate of $0.25 for fifteen minutes (total of four such stalls on each block) – the purpose is to allow/encourage quick customer in/out traffic (pick up watch repair, pick up ordered food, etc.). Raise the overtime fine for these meters to $5.00 from the standard $2.00.

 

Background: Currently, all of the metered parking on Massachusetts Street is for a maximum of two hours.

 

Staff Analysis: Fifteen minute meters would require signage of some sort to differentiate them from others on Massachusetts to drivers as they are approaching. Five dollar overtime fines, which would be different from other overtime fines in downtown, would require modest investments in different colored envelopes and programming adjustments to the Municipal Courts ticket processing system. Police Department and Municipal staff are exploring options for these changes. Staff recommends implementation of this proposal.

 

Revenue Impact: The impact on revenues of adding of total of twenty fifteen minute meters with $5.00 overtime fines would be modest. 

 

Enforcement Hours

 

Proposal: Enforce meters 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday; enforce meters on Sunday 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

 

Background: Parking enforcement hours are currently 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday; no enforcement on Sunday.

 

Staff Analysis: Meters are currently enforced for 7.5 hours daily, six days per week. Staff recommends expanding Monday – Saturday enforcement hours to 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. (8.5 hours daily), which would capture more of the higher demand evening parking hours. The existing staffing levels would be split into two overlapping shifts in order to cover the expanded hours at no additional cost to the city.

 

Staff does not recommend extending enforcement hours beyond 6:00 p.m. because the parking meters are not illuminated, and it would become difficult for patrons and enforcement officers to read the meters and for the enforcement officers to read license plates, particularly during the winter when it gets dark early.

 

Staff does not recommend adding Sunday enforcement hours because the cost of adding staffing to that shift would largely negate the increased collections.

 

Revenue Impact: Adding an hour of enforcement Monday – Saturday would result in collection of an additional $49,467 annually. Adding four hours of enforcement on Sunday would result in approximately $32,978 additional revenue.

 

Overtime Parking Fines

 

Proposal: Change the overtime fine from $2.00 to $3.00.

 

Background: The fine for overtime meters and overtime parking in non-metered lots downtown is currently $2.00, with an additional $8.00 late charge if not paid within 10 days.

 

Staff Analysis: A survey of other city downtown areas and competing commercial districts seems to indicate that $3.00 overtime parking fines would still be low in comparison. Staff recommends raising the overtime fine to $3.00 and also raising the late charge to $12.00, for a total of $15.00.

 

Staff also recommends adoption of an amended habitual violator ordinance to allow an additional enforcement tool against repeat, abusive violators of the parking laws. See attached memo for more information.

 

Revenue Impact: Raising overtime fees to $3.00 with a $7.00 late charge ($10.00 total) should result in $47,763 additional revenue, and raising them to $3.00 with a $12.00 late charge ($15 total) should result in $104,678 additional revenue.

 

Raising overtime fees to $5.00 with a $5.00 late charge ($10.00 total) would result in $139,572 additional revenue, and raising them to $5.00 with a $10.00 late charge ($15.00 total) would result in $197,962 additional revenue.

 

Time Limits on Massachusetts Street Meters

 

Proposal: Change current Massachusetts Street meters from two hours to 1.5 hours.

 

Background: Meters on Massachusetts Street, the 100 blocks off Massachusetts, and at the LEC, Community Building and Library have 2 hour maximum time limits. The time limit on these meters was last changed in 2003, when they went from 1.5 hours to two hours. There are also 30 minute meters near Round Corner Drug (temporarily), the Post Office and the Library. There are 5 and 10 hour meters located at various locations on the west side of Vermont Street and the east side of New Hampshire Street, as well as at the Community Building.  

 

Staff Analysis: Shortening the time limits on Massachusetts Street meters should do more to deter residents, employees and other longer-term parkers from parking on Massachusetts and encourage them to park in longer-term lots. Some critics have suggested that 1.5 hours is not enough time to go to dinner, but if enforcement stops at 6:00 p.m. then most restaurant patrons will not be affected due to the lateness of the dinner hour.

 

Staff recommends concurring with the proposal to change the Massachusetts Street meters from two hours to 1.5 hours.

 

Revenue Impact: If meter rates stay the same, simply changing the time limits from two hours to 1.5 hours should not significantly change the revenue estimates. See the next section, “Meter Rates,” for estimates of how new rates combined with 1.5 hour meters will affect revenues.

 

Meters Rates

 

Proposal: Charge $0.25 per half hour on Massachusetts Street. Make no changes to the outlying parking lot (long–term parking) rates.

 

Background: Meter rates downtown are currently the following (the meters on Massachusetts Street are 2 hour meters):

 

Current Downtown Meter Rates

 

30 min. meters

2 hour meters

5 & 10 hour meters

10 minutes

$0.05

 

 

12 minutes

 

$0.05

 

20 minutes

$0.10

 

 

24 minutes

 

$0.10

 

30 minutes

$0.25

 

$0.05

1 hour

 

$0.25

$0.10

2.5 hours

 

 

$0.25

 

 

Staff Analysis: Increasing rates on Massachusetts Street meters should do more to deter residents, employees and other longer-term parkers from parking on Massachusetts and encourage them to park in longer term lots.

 

Staff recommends the following rate structure for downtown meters, which incorporates the proposed $0.25 per half hour on Massachusetts, but also increases the rate on the 30 minute meters in order to achieve a more consistent incremental increase in per minute parking rates as the meter limits get shorter.  The thirty minute meters would match the rates on the 1.5 hours meters, and could actually have their rates raised further and still fit into this structure, but staff has not recommended that at this time because some of the thirty minute meters are replacements for other parking that is closed for construction currently, and business operators in the area may not appreciate that degree of change.

 

These recommended rates seem reasonable compared to other communities surveyed.   

 

Staff Recommended Downtown Meter Rates

 

15 minute meters (new)

30 minute meters (match 1.5 hr meters)

1.5 hour meters (new)

2 hour meters (no change)

5 & 10 hour meters (no change)

3 minutes

$0.05

 

 

 

 

6 minutes

$0.10

$0.05

$0.05

 

 

10 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

12 minutes

 

$0.10

$0.10

$0.05

 

15 minutes

$0.25

 

 

 

 

20 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

24 minutes

 

 

 

$0.10

 

30 minutes

 

$0.25

$0.25

 

$0.05

1 hour

 

 

 

$0.25

$0.10

2.5 hours

 

 

 

 

$0.25

Per minute rate

$0.01667

$0.00833

$0.00833

$0.00417

$0.00167

 

 

Revenue Impact: Making only the proposed change ($0.25 per half hour on 1.5 hour meters on Massachusetts) would result in an estimated $167,006 additional revenue. Making the additional staff recommended change to the thirty minute meters would have only a modest revenue impact because of the relatively small number of such meters.

 

Summary of Recommendations and Cumulative Revenue Impact

 

Staff recommends the following changes to the downtown parking system:

§  Implement two fifteen-minute meters on each side of each block of Massachusetts Street from 6th Street to 11th Street; these meters will have a $5.00 overtime fine;

§  Establish parking enforcement hours at 9:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Monday – Saturday;

§  Raise overtime parking fines to $3.00 with an additional $12.00 late payment charge;

§  Adopt an amended habitual violator ordinance;

§  Change Massachusetts Street meters from two hour maximum to 1.5 hour maximum;

§  Establish meter rates as recommended in “Staff Recommended Downtown Meter Rates” table above.

 

Making all of these changes, and factoring in 20% reductions in the increased revenues due to change in parking behavior (e.g. people seeking out the cheaper/free lots, staying at the more expensive meters for shorter time, and being more careful not to get overtime violations), the cumulative estimate of increased revenue is $219,567 (or a $163,024 increase in meter collections and a $56,543 increase in overtime fine collections).  

 

There would be various one time costs to making changes to the enforcement times, meter time limits and/or rates. It would cost approximately $4,000 to change enforcement hours plates, rate plates, and stickers on the affected meters. The meters are reprogrammed individually using a hand held computer unit that plugs into the meter. It would take approximately 59 hours of staff time to reprogram the meters at an approximate cost of $1,200. The staff time is an opportunity cost because that time would normally be spent on parking enforcement. 

 

Staff recommends making these changes effective August 1, 2009, before the bulk of university students return for the fall semester.

 

 

ACTION:      Direct staff as appropriate.