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Draft parking and TDM plan urges private-lot leasing, stricter enforcement and pilot paid-parking to ease downtown congestion
Summary
A consultant-backed draft calls for near-term actions — lease privately held lots for public/employee parking, enforce 2–3 hour limits, cap parklets, and expand trolley service — with medium-term tech (ALPR) and long-term evaluation of a $5–10M parking structure.
City staff presented a draft Parking and Transportation Demand Management (TDM) plan summarizing data collection and consultant recommendations to address peak parking pressure in the downtown (Del Mar) and Pier Bowl.
Counts collected in December and summer showed weekend and midday peaks in the core downtown corridor and different turnover patterns between Del Mar (higher turnover) and the Pier (longer stays). The consultant broke recommendations into near-term (0–2 years), mid-term (3–5 years) and long-term actions.
Near-term recommendations emphasized operational fixes: expand enforcement of 2–3 hour limits (a pilot enforcement program is starting), aggressively pursue leasing privately owned parking lots for employee and public use, reduce permitted parklet footprint downtown (city council cut the cap to 30 spaces at first reading), and increase bike/golf-cart parking and digital wayfinding. Medium-term measures include automated license‑plate reader enforcement, smart monitoring to adjust limits dynamically, and a parking-reduction/recovery fee program for small developments. Long-term options include studying a paid parking structure (estimated $5–10 million) and continued monitoring to determine whether residential permits or other measures are necessary.
Commissioners urged the city to push quick-hitting operational items forward to council immediately — especially leasing private lots for employee parking and ramping up enforcement so curb spaces turn over. Commissioner Griffin recommended forwarding the draft to council along with a short list of actionable "quick hits"; the commission voted to receive and file the draft plan and forward it to council for information and consideration, with one commissioner recorded opposed.
Staff will accept written feedback during the local-coastal program public-comment window and expects the plan to proceed to council later in the year as part of the coastal program update.
