SR-121796-9A~l sN1~
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Council Meeting November 20. 1990
Ta Mayor and City Council
Frain City Stafif
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DEG 1 7
Santa Monica. California
Subject Evaluation and Recommendations for the Attendant Parking Program
This report adv,ses the G~ty Council on staff's evaluation of the attendant parking
program in the six downtown parking structures, makes recommendations to increase
revenues so the attendant parking program will be `'revenue neutral" with the previous
parking meter program, and makes recommendations to improve overall operations
Discussion
The conversion of the downtown parking structures from parking meters to attendant
parking or cashierlpay-on-exit program was completed mid-January 1996 The
attendant parking program is managed by Ampco System Parking under contract 4;rith
the City Staff advised the Council that an evaluation of the attendant parking program
would be prepared The topics of the evaluation Rnclude the following items
1 Revenues and expenditures (page 2)
2 Monthly parking permits (page 4)
3 Operations (page 7)
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4 Pay-on-foot ;pre-pay) operations page 10)
5 Nighttime shori-term parking (page 10}
6 Parking statistics (page 1 1)
7 Comments from the public (page 11 }
8 Baystide D~stnct Corporatjon and Says~de Merchants' Input tpage 12)
Revenues and Expenditures
When the conversion of parking operations was approved by the Council, it was agreed
that the change should not impact parking revenues and that the program be "revenue
neutral" with the previous parking meter program As indicated on Attachment #1, it is
estimated the net income difference between the last full year of parking meters (FY
94195) and the first full year of at#endant parking (FY 96197} will be close to a S~ 53
million deficit Although general visitor parking revenues are about the same under the
attendant parking program, the net reduction ~n revenue results from the loss of parking
citation revenue and the contract costs to operate the program
For the implementation of the attendant parking program, the visitor parking rates were
increased The rate is as follows
$ 00 am to 6 00 pm -first two hours free, then 60 cents per 30 minutes
6 00 pm to midnight - 52 00 flat fee
Dally maximum - S7 00
The praSected revenue far FY 96197 ss $2 41 m~lhon
2
The City also rece:ves revenues from the safe of monthly parking permits and a 10°-~
parking facility tax For FY98;'97 it ~s estimated these revenues will be $720,000 and
S273,000 respectively Therefore, the total revenue under the attendant parking
program is approxjmately S3 00 m~li~on
It should be no#ed these revenue estimates are based upon the most recent data
available and they differ from the adapted budget which was developed several
months ago The differences are shown below
Adopted Budget
Attendant Parking Program
Parking Permits
Parking FacElity Tax
Total
$2,522,080
$ 700,000
S 322.200
$3,544,280
Revised Estimate
$2,010,000
$ 720,000
S 273.000
$3,003,000
The contract cost for FY 98!97 to manage the day-to-day operations of the attendant
parking program rs approximately S660,000
Therefore, the net income is estimated at S2 34 million The net income m FY 94195
under the parking meter program was S3 87 million
3
Staff has evaluated various parking rate options and is recommending an overall
modification of the parking rates During the day (8 00 am to 6 00 pm), the proposed
change is 'one hour free, then 50 cents per 30 minutes" A reduction in both the free
period and the half-hour rate At night (after n 00 pmt, currently, the rate is S2 00 flat
fee paid on exit Staff recommends a change to incorporate one hour free parking and
then a $3 00 fiat rate Also, staff recommends an increase of the operating hours to
2 00 am Operations currently end at midnight and it has been projected that after
midnight a significant amount of revenue could be realized
The proposed parking rate is:
8:00 am to fi:00 pm - 1 hour free, then 50 cents per 30 minutes
x:00 pm to 2:U0 am - 1 hour free, then 53.00 flat fee
Daily maximum - S7'.00
]t is estimated the changes outlined above will generate $1 35 million additional annual
revenue including parking tax
Monthly Parking Permits
As a customer convenience, monthly parking permits are sold for each parkrng
structure The permit, actually a gate keycard, allows the permittee unlimited access to
a specific parking structure The current fee far this permit is $50 00 per month plus
10°~o parking tax This fee did not increase with the conversion to attendant parking
4
The conversion has created several problems in the area of permit parkrng Since the
conversion, the demand for monthly parkrng permrts has skyrocketed with the demand
far exceeding the current supply Thrs problem did not exist under the parkrng meter
system A waiting Irst currently exists totaling more than 150 requests for permrts even
though staff has increased the number of ova+lab4e permrts Some comments have
been received that there should be an unlimited availability of permits, however, the
program has a "cap'' on the number of permrts that are avarlable for each parkrng
structure The current cap rs se# at approximately 60°0 of the avarlable public parkrng
spaces rn each structure Thrs cap generally ensures avarlab{e parkrng spaces for
visitors and patrons to the downtown, and generally a permittee can always find a
space as well The cap under the parkrng meter program was 45°'0
Staff has determined the basic reason for the hrgh demand for monthly parkrng permrts
rs the current imbalance betGVeen the daily parkrng rates and the monthly rate For
example, assume a foil-time employee works, on the average, 21 days per month, eight
hours per day At the monthly rate, parking would cost S50 00 Ifi the employee did not
have a permit, at the daily maximum rate, parkrng would cost S147 00, almost three
times more Even for apart-time employee who works only two days per week, at the
daily rate, parkrng would cost S56 00, still more than the monthly ra#e
Staff has reviewed monthly parkrng rates at vanous parkrng facilities throughout
downtown Monthly parkrng ra#es, excluding the parkrng structures, ranged from a low
of 560 00 to a hrgh of X105 00 The City's current rate rs below the 4owest ra#e rn the
downtown area adding to the demand for permits ~n the City structures Staff believes
that the monthly rate is too low and should be increased in line ~+rith the current rates
Also, in retrospect, the monthly rate should have been increased when the visitor
parking rates v~rere increased at the beginning of the attendant parking program Staff
is recommending a monthly rate of S75 00 plus parking tax !t is estimated the
additional revenue will be $400,000 including parking tax
Another issue that has surfaced is the parking locations for permittees Curren#ly,
parking in all of the structures is on a first-come, fiirst-served basis Comments have
been made that permit parkers park in the convenient lower level spaces and visitors
are required to park in the upper levels Same have indicated that permit parkers
should be required to park in the upper levels of the structures to provide for convenient
lower level parking for visitors and patrons to downtown In theory, this concep# may be
logical, but in practice, it may not be the best or most efficient use of the structures
Equipment rs available that could force permittees into the upper levels of the
structures This function is referred to as ~`nestmg" However, once nesting is installed,
it "casts in stone'' the number of parking spaces for permit parkers relative to visitors
Immediately, the flexibility and ability to adjust to changing parking demands is
eliminated, especially the different demands between permittees and visitors during the
day vs during the nights and weekends Therefore, staff does not recommend any
changes to the first-come, first-served system at this time, but will continue evaluating
6
ways to provide convsn~ent parking for v~s~tors and increase the efficiency of the
structures Enhanced signage andlor increased staff will be evaluated
operations
There are several operat~anal issues that have surfaced with the attendan# parkrng
The biggest of these is the delay and congestion when ex~t3ng the structures, especially
at peak periods It is important to note that the parking structures are not designed for
an attendant parking operation Typical attendant parking operations have multiple
entering and exiting/cashier lanes whereas the City's structures essentially have one
lane m and one lane out However, staff believes it has implemented the best design
given the limitations
Currently, there is one entrance lane and ticket machine into each structure Inside
each structure, the traffic circulation is single lane, one-way When exiting, a# the last
aisle before entering the street. two lanes are available, one cashier lane and one
'express lane" fior keycards or less than t4vo-hours, or pre-paid At peak exiting periods
especially when movEegoers are leaving, traffic often backs up several aisles To
relieve this, the parking operatic assigns a second cashier on the express lane This
has helped reduce some of the delay and congestion
Another issue is tha# when the structures are near full, packers have difficulty finding
spaces or do not know where avaElable spaces may be found This situation may also
create some delay, congestion, and frustration
7
Staff believes these and other operational problems can best be addressed with some
additional staffing Adding personnel in the structures to assist and direct porkers also
provides better `customer service" than ~^~ith signage or mechanical means Additional
staff can direct packers to available parking, they can inform packers when structures
are full or why there may be delays in exiting, and they can ask packers waiting to exit to
have their fee ready when they reach the cashier
!t is estimated the additional staff will require an increase to the current contract with
Ampco by approximately $136,600 for FY 96197 This includes round the clock (24
hour) staff in the parlting office, additional casts for cashiers until 2 00 am, and
additional staff (traffic directors) directing and assisting packers in the parking
structures
Some of the additional staffrng that has been proposed has been in-place since the
beginning of the fiscal year and $69.000 of the $136,000 increase will compensate the
contractor far these extra costs This includes the presence of parking office staff on a
round the clack basis assisting packers via the intercom system between midnight and
8 00 am when the structures are not in operation, but are still open, and performing
several clerical duties associated with attendant parking opera#ion A few extra traffic
directors have been added during the peak periods Also, Ampca personnel have been
staffing the centralized cashier carts/pay-on-foot s#ations on the Promenade (this matter
is discussed is more detail later in this report}
8
The balance of the 5136,000 will pay to continue the a round the clock office staff for
the full year (additionaE six months}, pay far additional cashiering until 2 00 am six
months}, and increase the number of 'traffic directors" to assist parkers as previously
discussed (six months}
Another issue that is impacting operations is the rotation of parkers onto and out of the
parking structures within the two-hour free period It has been observed that some
parkers regularly exit and re-enter parking structures within the two-hour free period to
avoid paying fees Obviously, there is a loss of revenue, but also the additional traffic
circulation unnecessarily adds to the congestion in the structures Staff's
recommendation earlier m this report to reduce the twa-hour free parking to one-hour
should largely eliminate this problem
One rssue related to the operation of the attendant parking program is the costs of
telephone services Not only are there telephones in the parking office, but there are
telephone lines used between all of the structures and the parking office to transmit
data These telephone costs have not been factored into the program. but are
significant and should be part of the operating costs Staff rs recommending the costs
be included in the Ampco contract reimbursements The estimated annual telephone
costs are $22,000
9
Pay-On-Foot (Pre-Pay) Operations
An element of the attendant parking program included a pay-on foot (pre-pay?
opera#ian The plan vas to install pay-on-foot stations, similar to ATM machines. in
each block of the Promenade, so parkers could pay in advance and use the express
lane when exiting During the initial phase of the program, carts avith cashiers have
been an the Promenade to serve as pre-pay stations Use of the pre-pay stations has
been very low, less than one percent of the total transactions
Staff was planning to install the pay-on-foot stations inside a kiosk designed to blend
with the existing Promenade theme However, the estimated costs far construction of
the kiosk and manufacture of the pay-on-foot stations exceeded S35D,DOg With usage
of the pre-pay stations so low, staff determined that to proceed with the installation of
the pay-on-foot stations and kiosks would not be appropriate
After carts~deration and discussions with the parking operator, staff is recommending
the elimination of the pay-on-foot/pre-pay operations Staff believes the costs of
continuing to operate this program could be better used to add staff assisting parkers in
the structures
Nighttime Short-term Parking
During various discussions about parking in the do~vntown area, some members of
Council have indicated a need for available parking for short-term visits to the
Promenade Staff has previously reviewed operating on-street meters at night, but
~0
determined after actual implementation of nighttime meters that this proposal creases
problems because of the differing parking seeds of daytime parkers vs nighttime
parkers The nighttime meter operation vas removed at the direction to Council
Staff's recommendation to address the need for short-term nighttime parking is to offer
one hour of free parking m the structures As indicated in the revenue and expenditure
section, staff es recommending a mod~f~cat~on to the nighttime (after 6 00 pm) parking
rates and operating hours #hat will include one-hour of free parking to accommodate
short-term visitors to the Promenade
Parking Statistics
Attached to this report are recent parking occupancy statistics far the week of October
14 #hrough 20. The information shows the typical weekly parking pattern and rnciudes
an hourly occupancy for all structures. The peak occupancies in the structures follow
are expected pattern The peak occupancy during the weekdays, Monday through
Thursday, generally occurs between 1 00 and 3 00 pm with approxima#ely 70 to 80%
occupancy On E=r~day and Saturday the peak occupancy occurs in the evening around
10 00 pm, approximately 90°~0 occupancy On Sunday the peak occurs rn the late
afternoon approximately 80%
Comments From the Public
Comments from the public have generally been positive. The public appreciates the
end of "meter anxEety" and `ticket shock" m the structures Comments from the
merchants and property owners rn the Promenade have also been favorable
11
Generally, the attendant parking program is vip~~red as an improvement over the
previous metered parking program
However, some negatrve comments have been received about operational issues such
as equipment breakdowns, problems with the monthly permrt system and specifrc
complaints or concerns about a few cashiers or parking employees Staff rs aware that
there have been problems with some of the equrpment operations These problems
have largely been addressed, and the equipment rs operatrng more consrstently
However, some equipment breakdowns are strfl occurring and some equipment
vandalrsm rs being experienced Complaints about specs#ic parking employees have
been handled drrectly by the parking operator with drsciplmary actrons including
terminatron
Baysrde District Corporation and Baysrde Merchants Input
Staff has presented these recommendations to the Baysrde Drstnct Baird of Directors
and the Board approved staff's recommendatrons However, at the Board meetrng. a
member of the Baysrde Merchants Assocratron was present and subsequently, the
merchants have expressed opposrtron to staffi's recommendation The merchants
suggest re#arnrng the two free hours and charging 75 cents per 30 mrnutes during the
day, and ~2 50 at night Stafif evaluated the merchants proposal and estimates the
annuaE revenue generated by this rate structure avould be S920,000 without free parking
at night and ~795,OOfl with free parking The annual revenue generated by staff's
proposed rate s#ructure would be S1 35 million
12
Buclget/Fiscal Impact
Staff recommends that the following three areas of the attendant parking program that
revolve fiscal impacts be modified
The recommendation to modify the parking rates to one hour of free parking, then 50
cents per 30 minutes until 8 00 pm, and one hour free parking after 6 00 pm, then S3 00
flat fee, acrd operating the parking structures until 2 00 am These measures will
increase the annual revenue by an estimated S1 35 million including parking tax
Staff's recommendation to increase the monthly parking permit rate to $75 00 will
increase annual revenues by approximately 5400,000 including tax
The additional staffing and cus#omer service recommendations will increase the annual
expense 4~y approximately ~136,OOQ And, the telephortie casts will increase the annual
expense by approximately $22,000
However, the net result of these fisca! recommendations will increase annual income by
approximately ~1 59 million
if approved, it is currently anticipated that these fiscal recommendations will take effect
on January 1, 1997, so only about half of the estimated increase wil! be received m FY
96197 However, m FY 97198 a full year of this increased income will be realized
13
Recommencfatians
It is respectfully requested the City CouncEl approve the followEng recommendations
Approve the attached resolution establishing ne4^r parking rates including one
hour free parking, then 50 cents per 30 minutes between 8 00 am and 6 00 pm,
and after 6 00 pm, one hour free parking, then a $3 00 fiat fee, and increasing
the operating hours to 2 00 am daily
2 Approve the attached resolution increasing the monthly permit parking fee to
S75 00 per month
3 Approve an increase to Contract ~ 7133 by $158,000 to enhance staffing and
improve operatRans and customer service, and fund telephone charges, and
appropriate 5158,000 to account X01-210-415-00000-5501-00000 to fund the
enhancement
4 Direct staff to make the appropriate mods#~cations to the FY 96197 budget as
outlined in this staff report
Prepared by Suzanne Frick, Director ofi Planning and Community Development
Ron Fuchiwaki, City Parking and Traffic Engineer
Doug Biagi, Associate Traffic Engineer
~attendl)
14
Summary of Revenue and Expenditures
Attendant Parking vs Parking Meters
ATTACHti1ENT I
FY 94195 FY 95196 FY 96'97
Account Actual Actual Request
Revenues_
Structure Attendant Parking (portion
related to parking structures)
Parking Meters (portion related to
parking structures)
Structure Parking Permits
Municipal Ordinance Violations
SD 51.004.71 D 52,010.D00
(119fi-0196)
1,917,$7$ 1,067,460
(7195-12195)
719,255 720,450
{7195-6196)
(port~an related to parkEng s#ructures} 1,28D,646 640,32D
{7195-12195)
Parking Fac~l~ty Tax 71,926 144,480
Sub-total Revenues 3,989,705 3,5?7,420
Expenditures•
Attendant Parking Contract
Parking Meter Collection Costs
(portion related only to parking
s#ructures)
parkEng Meter Repair Cos#s (portion
D 566.780
(9195-619f)
0
72D,ODD
0
273,ODD
3,003,000
858.475
61,096 32,082
(7195-12195)
0
related only to parking structures) 55,051 31,344 0
(7195-12195)
Sub-total Expenditures 116,147 630,206 858,475
Net Income (Rev. -Expend.) 53,873,558 $2,947,214 $2,344,525
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f:\atty\muni\laws\mjm\parkrate.res
City Council Meeting 11-26-96 Santa Monica, California
RESOLUTION NO. (CCS}
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SANTA MONICA ESTABLISHING PARKING RATES
IN THE DOWNTOWN PARKING STRUCTURES, AUTHORIZING
AN EXIT PAY SYSTEM AND FINDING THAT PARKING RATE
INCREASES ARE EXEMPT FROM THE PROVISIONS OF THE
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT
WHEREAS, the downtown parking structures serve the Third
Street Promenade and adjacent commercial district; and
WHEREAS, the City desires to provide convenient and "user
friendly" parking to visitors, residents and employees; and
WHEREAS, the City has affirmed its commitment to the
continuing revitalization of the Bayside District,
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONiCA
DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. As of the effective date of this Resolution, the
rates to be charged in Parking Meter Zane D shall be:
a. During the hours of 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., parking
shall be without charge far the first hour, and $.50 per 30 minutes
or part thereof, for all time beyond the first hour up to a maximum
of Seven Dollars ($7.00} per day.
b. During the hours of 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 A.M. the
following day, parking shall be Three Dollars ($3.00} per entry for
each vehicle regardless of the amount of time the vehicle is parked
1
a space in Zone D.
c. Permits for parking in Parking Meter Zone D shall be
sold at a rate of Seventy-Five Dollars {$75.00) per month for
unreserved spaces.
SECTION 2. The City Council finds that the establishment,
modification, structuring, restructuring or approval of parking
rates in the downtown parking structures contained in Section 1 is
for the purpose of meeting operating expenses, including employee
wage rates and fringe benefits and/or obtaining funds for capital
projects necessary to maintain service within existing service
areas.
SECTION 3. The City Council hereby finds as follows:
The increase in parking rates in the downtown parking
structures is established to meet operating expenses, including
employee wage rates and fringe benefits, or obtain funds for
capital projects necessary to maintain service within existing
service areas.
SECTION 4. Pursuant to Public Resources Code Section
21080(b)(8), the rate increase provided for in Section 1 is exempt
from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act of
1970, Public Resources Code Sections 21000 ~.,t sea.
SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of
2
this Resolution, and thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be
in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
I ~
MARSHA JON$S MOUTRIE
City Attorn y