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City responds to Shasta County Grand Jury on downtown parking; staff to add signage and continue monitoring
Summary
City staff told the council they mostly found the downtown parking program is meeting goals, outlined steps to improve signage and kiosk visibility, and recommended continuing six-month reporting intervals rather than quarterly updates requested by the grand jury.
City staff told the Redding City Council that after reviewing the Shasta County Grand Jury’s report on downtown parking they concluded the parking program is meeting its intended goals but will implement targeted signage and visibility improvements.
Mister Webb, a city staff member presenting the report, said the grand jury issued six findings and six recommendations and that staff disagreed with the characterization that the program lacked transparency. Webb referenced the city’s obligation to respond under California law (California Code section 933(c)) and explained that the city must lead responses with specific statutory language. He said staff have briefed council multiple times in 2023–24 on revenues, costs and adjustments and that the downtown program’s underlying goal is to maintain roughly a 15% vacancy rate to ensure turnover for downtown visitors.
Webb described steps the city has taken or will take in response to the grand jury: implementing larger 30-by-42 lot signs in off-street lots, raising or improving signs at some kiosks to make pay stations easier to find, adding reflective tape and continuing to monitor parking metrics and stakeholder feedback. He said the city will not implement the grand jury’s recommendation to install approximately 40 mall-style “you are here” wayfinding maps, but will maintain and update four strategic wayfinding signs already in place. Webb said some recommendations tied to sign color could not be implemented because sign colors must comply with the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (California MUTCD).
Webb also said the city had initially commissioned vendor data collection for about 18 months at approximately $30,000 per month but paused that expense after staff and stakeholder feedback and on-site monitoring gave adequate confidence in program performance; staff said they would consider commissioning new counts if downtown development warrants it.
A council member moved to approve the city's draft response; the motion was seconded and the council voted to approve the response.
Webb emphasized continued monitoring and incremental improvements to sign size, placement and kiosk visibility as downtown development continues.
