Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Legal Services Department

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Toni R. Wheeler, Director of Legal Services Vicki Stanwix, Municipal Court Administrator
C:	Ron Olin, Chief, Lawrence Police Department Tarik Khatib, Captain, Lawrence Police Department Teri Pierce, Animal / Parking Control Unit Manager Jonathan Douglass, City Clerk Diane Stoddard and Cynthia Wagner, City Manager’s Office
Date:	April 13, 2010
RE:	Habitual Parking Violator Statistics and Information

At its March 30, 2010 meeting, the City Commission directed staff to provide detailed information concerning the habitual parking violator citations, and the underlying parking citations that lead to the habitual parking violator designation.  The Commission wanted to know where the parking violations occur, the time of day the citations are issued, whether people receiving the citations timely pay them, the total number of ten-hour and five-hour parking meter spaces in the downtown area, and a map of the 10-hour lots and parking garages in downtown.  The information provided in this report is valid through April 9, 2010.  Because new citations are issued daily, and persons receiving citations may have since paid the citation, the data will not be current at the time the City Commission discusses this item at its meeting on April 20, 2010. 

General Overview

Parking Control staff began issuing habitual parking violator citations on March 10, 2010.  For more information concerning the history of the offense, see the staff memorandum dated March 29, 2010.  As of April 9, 2010, parking control staff had issued 168 habitual parking violator citations to 85 individuals.  The 85 individuals who have received a habitual parking violator citation were issued a total of 6,657 parking meter tickets in the last two years.  Six of the 85 people have paid all of their parking fines as of April 9th.  The remaining 79 people owe the City over $25,000 in unpaid parking fines for citations issued in the last two years. 

Location of Issuance of the Habitual Violator Parking Citation

Under the habitual violator parking law (Section 17-417 of the City Code), individuals who accumulate five (5) or more violations of overtime parking laws within a 30-day period are designated as habitual parking violators.  The 168 habitual parking violator citations issued between March 10 and April 9, 2010, were issued at the following locations:

Quantity	Location
80	Parking Lots
50	Massachusetts St. between 6^th & 11^th Streets
12	Side streets west of Massachusetts St.
11	Side streets east of Massachusetts St.
7	New Hampshire Parking Garage
3	New Hampshire St. between 6^th & 11^th Streets
3	Vermont Street between 6^th and 11^th Streets
2	Riverfront Garage

Of the 80 habitual parking violator citations issued in parking lots, the number of citations per lot is as follows: 

Lot No.	General Vicinity of Lot	Citations
2	7^th / 8^th and Massachusetts – N. Hampshire	7
3	8^th / 9^th and Massachusetts – Vermont	13
4	8^th / 9^th and Massachusetts – N. Hampshire	7
5	9^th / 10^th and Vermont - Massachusetts	23
9	9^th / 10^th  and Kentucky	1
12	7^th & Vermont – behind Eldredge	2
13	Public Library & Fire Station #1	2
14	7^th & Vermont	23
15	6^th & Kentucky	1
17	6^th & Massachusetts	1

Location of Issuance of the Underlying Parking Citations to 85 Individuals

Four hundred and twenty five (425) meter citations were issued within 30 days to the 85 individuals who were issued a habitual parking violator citation.  The location of the issuance of the 425 tickets is:

Quantity	Location
197	Parking Lots
135	Massachusetts St. between 6^th & 11^th Streets
10	Side streets west of Massachusetts St.
28	Side streets east of Massachusetts St.
23	New Hampshire Parking Garage
12	New Hampshire St. between 6^th & 11^th Streets
15	Vermont Street between 6^th and 11^th Streets
5	Riverfront Garage

Of the 197 parking citations issued in parking lots, the number of citations per lot is as follows: 

Lot No.	General Vicinity of Lot	Citations
2	7^th / 8^th and Massachusetts – N. Hampshire	18
3	8^th / 9^th and Massachusetts – Vermont	39
4	8^th / 9^th and Massachusetts – N. Hampshire	17
5	9^th / 10^th and Vermont – Massachusetts	54
7	11^th & Vermont – Community Building	1
9	9^th / 10^th  and Kentucky	1
12	7^th & Vermont – behind Eldredge	8
13	Public Library & Fire Station #1	1
14	7^th & Vermont	54
15	6^th & Kentucky	1
16	6^th & N. Hampshire	1
17	6^th & Massachusetts	2

The total number of tickets (overtime parking and habitual parking violator combined) issued on Massachusetts Street through April 9^th is 185.  Most of the tickets were issued in the 700 though 1000 blocks of Massachusetts Street.  A breakdown by block is:   

600 Block of Massachusetts	700	800	900	1000	1100
17 violations	38	31	42	38	19

More citations were issued in parking lots than in the meter spaces along Massachusetts Street.  There are more parking spaces available in the lots than on Massachusetts Street.  The lots are also more attractive because many of the long-term parking lots offer two hours of free parking.  

Payment Status

The 85 individuals who received the habitual parking violator citation had been issued 425 meter tickets in 30 days.  As of April 9, 2010, 231 of the 425 meter tickets issued to the 85 habitual parking violators had been paid within ten days of issuance.  One hundred ninety-four (194) of the tickets were not paid within ten days of issuance. 

Of the 85 people who were designated habitual parking violators through April 9, 2010, 23, or 27%, paid all five of the parking meter tickets issued prior to the date of issuance of the habitual parking violator citation.  Thirty-four (34) people, or 40%, who were designated habitual parking violators had not paid any of the tickets issued to them prior to the date they were issued the habitual parking violator citation.   The remaining 28 people, or 33%, paid one or more parking tickets before they were issued the habitual parking violator citation. 

Time of Day Tickets Are Issued

The Commission wanted to know the time of day the citations were issued.  The parking citations and the habitual parking violator citations were issued at the following times:

Hour	Quantity of Tickets
9:00 – 10:00 a.m.	16
10:00 – 11:00 a.m.	32
11:00 – 12:00 p.m.	57
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.	76
1:00 -  2:00 p.m.	76
2:00 -  3:00 p.m.	119
3:00 – 4:00 p.m.	103
4:00 – 5:00 p.m.	91
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.	23
Total	593

Availability of Long-Term Parking Meters on the Streets and In Parking Lots

Teri Pierce, Animal and Parking Control Unit Manager, reports there are 522 ten-hour parking meters on the streets or in lots downtown.  (Lot 11 has 30 spaces that are currently unavailable due to construction on the Carnegie building).  There are 155 five-hour parking meters on the New Hampshire and Vermont Streets between 7^th Street and 11^th Streets.  There are 527 ten-hour pass (or $1 pay) spaces, 211 of which are also used for two-hour free parking (Lot 10, Basement NH Garage, Ramp at Riverfront Mall).  There are 132 free ten-hour spaces located on the top of the New Hampshire garage.  A recent report from parking control staff shows that the top level of the New Hampshire garage is used, on average, nearly 70% during the daytime business hours, leaving approximately 43 spaces unused during the daytime hours Monday through Friday.  All together, there are 1,336 long term parking spaces available on the streets, in parking lots, and in garages in downtown.  A map showing the location of parking lots and garages in downtown is attached. 

Miscellaneous Information Related to Downtown Parking

Thirteen (13) of the 85 habitual parking violators have vehicles registered with a downtown address and three of the 13 are registered under the name of a business.  Sixty-five (65) individuals designated as habitual parking violators have been issued citations in the same lot or block which may indicate a connection with a business or residence in the area.  Staff was unable to obtain a comprehensive list of downtown employees. 

Finally, there were 87 occasions on which individuals receiving the habitual parking violator designation received two or more citations in one day while parked at the same location or meter. 

Please let us know if you need additional information.