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Downtown parking fund under pressure; council asks staff for outreach and data review
Summary
Parking staff told the City Council the downtown parking enterprise is under strain after modernization costs, lost high-demand stalls and enforcement changes; Council asked staff to work with the DDA and downtown businesses on outreach, permits and data-driven options.
City parking staff briefed the City Council on June 16 about inventory, revenue trends and near-term choices for downtown parking, saying a series of developments have increased pressure on the parking enterprise fund and asking council for direction on outreach and data collection.
Jay (parking operations lead) and General Services staff described the system the city currently manages: eight surface lots (433 spaces), roughly 725 on-street paid spaces and the Route Avenue garage, for a total managed supply the staff cited as 1,284 spaces. Staff said the city manages pay-station lots and new smart meters that accept credit cards and app payments; the city also leases monthly garage permits and 10-hour permits.
"The parking system is an enterprise fund. It is only supported through the fees and the fines that I spoke to in the earlier slides," Jay said, explaining that the fund pays operations and maintenance and does not receive general-fund subsidies.
Key figures and pressures, as presented by staff:
- Smart-meter modernization cost: $535,000 (capital modernization expense reported by staff).
- Permit and usage: about 247 active monthly permits; covered garage spaces leased at $75 per month and uncovered at $40 per month; 10-hour permits available for downtown employees.
- Occupancy trend: staff cited a consultant study showing occupancy rose from about 45% in 2015 to 55% in 2022 and recommended planning for additional parking capacity by 2027 to meet projected demand.
- Lost high-demand spaces: staff said changes on Fourth and Fifth Streets reduced about 73 high-earning stalls and noted the fund felt an immediate revenue impact.
- Enforcement and staffing: parking enforcement jobs are high-turnover and the department said enforcement capacity affects turnover of metered spaces; one enforcement change (temporarily extending enforcement hours) was later rolled back after public pushback.
Staff described revenue options that have been tried or considered, including permit-rate adjustments, garage-lease increases and enforcement-hour changes. Council and staff discussed strategies for creating more availability for customers while providing affordable options for employees.
Council direction and next steps: members asked staff to develop a targeted engagement plan with the Downtown Development Authority and downtown businesses. Council asked staff to return with better usage data, block-by-block analyses and options that could include partnerships with private lot owners, permit schemes for employee parking, and pilot promotions that are measurable. Staff said the new smart meters and app-based enforcement will allow more granular data reporting and that they would begin outreach and more-detailed analysis.
Ending: Staff will work with the DDA and downtown stakeholders, return with occupancy and revenue data, and prepare options for council consideration; council members emphasized any subsidy or promotional pilot must be balanced with the enterprise fund's need to remain solvent.
