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City of City Council Report
Santa Monica
City Council Meeting: May 12, 2009
Agenda Item: ~~
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Eileen P. Fogarty, Director of Planning and Community Development
Subject: Contract for Nelson Nygaard Parking Assessment the Downtown Civic
Center Area
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a contract with Nelson Nygaard for a total not to exceed $118,978.00, with a
10% contingency for a total of $130,876.00. There is sufficient funding available in the
account for Civic Center Planning and Design.
Executive Summary
At the March 24, 2009 Study Session on the Civic Center and Downtown area, the City
Council directed staff to proceed with the integrated planning approach to provide
circulation and parking studies in association with the arrival of the EXPO station in the
downtown. The approach considered four recent major initiatives impacting parking
demand in the study area, which the proposed contract addresses by undertaking
these specific analyses:
• Comprehensive demand analysis for entire area including the categories of daily
use, beach use and event use, allowing for reductions based on Transportation
Demand Management, light rail ridership and strategic operations.
• Consideration of peak demand days, times, and fluctuations caused by events
and. seasons.
• Determination of the maximum value of investment by looking for joint use
opportunities in conjunction with pricing scenarios.
• Evaluation of pricing strategies to determine rate of return and/or City subsidy for
capital investment
• Determination of need for transit augmentation (shuttle, trolley) and location
strategies to avoid duplication of parking facilities.
• Propose coordinated management strategy among both existing and proposed
facilities
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Discussion
The future Exposition Light Rail line is an exciting opportunity for the City. The terminus
station in Downtown Santa Monica, located at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue, will
increase pedestrian activity and change the. pattern of bicycle, transit and vehicular
traffic in the downtown. The approach supported by Council at its March 24th meeting
comprehensively addressed some of the larger objectives identified by Council:
• Connecting the Civic Center and Downtown
• Creating a vibrant downtown LRT transit gateway
• Enhancing and expanding open space and park area
Resolving circulation issues for pedestrians, bicycles, transit and other vehicles
• Addressing parking needs comprehensively, identifying shared use opportunities.
The City of Santa Monica must optimize the use of existing parking, and should ensure
that any new parking is strategically developed to serve multiple uses. To develop this
approach, staff recommends a comprehensive parking evaluation examining an
extended district including the Civic Center uses, Santa Monica High School, the
downtown south of Arizona, and the LRT terminus. The evaluation would incorporate
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the anticipated conversion of existing surface parking lots in the Civic Center to open
space and new uses, as proposed in CCSP. Creating a true shared use district which
balances parking demand and economic return requires an optimal mix of investment in
new parking, coordinated management of existing parking, and access improvements.
This analysis will build on the existing Walker Parking Study of the downtown parking
district to include the Civic Center Area and an analysis of how the addition of the Light
Rail will impact parking demand.
Contractor/Consultant Selection
In February 2008, staff issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a parking assessment
and strategy. The RFP requested a broad range of skills that would require conducting
not only a traditional. parking demand and analysis, but also the ability to evaluate this
demand in light of the policies presented by the LUCE and the anticipated needs of the
downtown and Civic Center circulation program. The .parking strategy will be a
foundation for both the circulation and economic functioning of the area. Two firms
responded to the RFP. Based on responses to the RFP, PCD staff has selected Nelson
Nygaard as the most appropriate consultant to analyze demand, identify capacity,
evaluate the stated need in relation to the Transportation Demand Management
program, Light Rail ridership, shared parking and pricing strategy, and recommend
locations and operations for a comprehensive parking program. Nelson Nygaard, the
selected firm, provided the best combination of experienced and available staff, and
understanding of the necessary financial analysis and parking program pricing
requested in the RFP.
Nelson Nygaard is currently under contract to provide transportation consulting for the
LUCE. As the Downtown Civic center area will be developed per the multi-modal
transportation policies of the LUCE, their involvement in both projects will be beneficial
to providing integrated policies and development.
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Budget and Impact
Funds in the amount of $130,876.00 are available at account C170772:Civic Center
Planning and Design.
Prepared by:
Sarah Lejeune, Principal Planner
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
J/
Eileen P. Fo rty P ont Ewell
Director, Planning and Community Ci y Manager
Development Department
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