Walker consultants recommend zone pricing, kiosks and plate‑recognition in Bloomington parking review

Parking Services Director Michelle Wall introduced Walker Parking consultants, who summarized key findings from a yearlong study of on‑street and off‑street parking conditions.

Lauren Sturtevant and John Martins said on‑street and off‑street rates are “very low and outdated,” that parking hardware and off‑street equipment are reaching end‑of‑life, and that a zone‑based pricing approach focused on the 3rd–7th Street core would better match demand. “Our key findings are that on street rates, have are very low and outdated,” the consultant stated. They recommended replacing single‑space meters with kiosks and enabling pay‑by‑plate and ParkMobile integration, adopting a mobile license‑plate recognition enforcement tool, and adjusting enforcement evening hours from 9:00 to 8:00 p.m. to capture evening turnover.

Council members sought detail on privacy and data security for license‑plate readers and asked for a turnover study that checks license plates hourly to measure actual vehicle durations. Clerk Bolden cautioned against immediately centralizing parking appeals within Parking Services because of a prior court action that moved appeals out of the parking office; she cited the city’s appeal turnaround average (3.4 days) and noted many appeals are tied to ParkMobile user errors. Consultants and staff agreed more implementation details and a joint review with the Transportation Commission are warranted before policy changes or capital purchases.

The report includes recommended incremental rate increases (core area suggested +$0.50/hour, lower‑demand areas +$0.25/hour) and a phased replacement of ~1,400 single‑space meters to kiosks; the consultants projected technology and operational improvements would enable better performance metrics and public transparency about how parking revenue is used.