Permit Parking changes expected to take affect June 1
No fee increase proposed but guest permits eliminated
Immediate changes to the permit parking system could go into effect by June 1 if the City Council votes to implement Parking Committee’s recommendations.
“These are intended to relieve a bit of the crush that may be coming for the summer,” Councilman Joe Woerner said during Monday night’s City Council workshop meeting. “These are not long-term recommendations.”
While the focus will be to relieve stresses in the downtown area, the committee continues to work to revamp the entire permit system, Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn said.
A March parking study conducting by Manhattan-based Desman Associates, the city’s parking consultant, showed there were not enough available spaces to accommodate the permits issued.
The committee said all current permits will remain valid through year’s end and they will not seek a rate increases this year but changes are expected in 2016.
“We want to be able to properly prepare people for potential rate increases, which I think is safe to say, for 2016,” Quinn said.
With the goal of creating more parking spaces, the committee suggests utilizing the municipal parking lot and the lot south of the transportation center for residential, employee and public parking.
The municipal lot will be closed May 13 to 20 as milling and paving work begins. The city-owned lot will be metered and its spaces will be widened.
Those needing to conduct business at city hall during the week-long closure can park along Main Street, Bangs Avenue and at the Memorial Drive lot, said Tom Gilmour, Director of Economic Development. Signs will direct patrons through the Bangs Avenue and rear building access doors.
Woerner said Press Plaza will now be open to public parking only and all residential permits within that zone will shift one block to Lake Avenue.
And although employee parking permits are at an all-time high, the committee recommends keeping their sale intact until they reach a limit of 300. Once that happens, a waiting list will be created.
The popular guest permits will no longer be sold after June 1, when the changes are expected to go into effect. Quinn said employee parking permits are the highest selling permits to date, with the first four month’s tally already superseding the previous annual figures.
“Guest permits are something that were a luxury if you can allow it but the parking crisis in downtown really no longer allows us to give out guest permits to park for a somewhat nominal amount of money,” Quinn said.
Lastly, the committee is working to negotiate at least 75 residential parking spaces within the state-owned Bangs Avenue parking garage. Woerner said residential spots will be assigned on a first come, first served basis at a $40 per month rate.
There is a potential that 15 additional spots may become available, Quinn said.
Those who purchase the Bangs Avenue residential spots will be given renewal preference in 2016, although the rate is expected to increase, Woerner said.
“So it would be like a foot in the door,” he said. “We don’t know if the price will be the same but we will allow you to renew it at whatever price will be determined for next year.”
The changes will be introduced during Wednesday night’s City Council meeting are expected to be voted on during the May 27th meeting. The public will have a chance to ask questions and make statements before a vote to adopt the Parking Committee’s recommendation on May 27th.
Municipal attorney Frederick Raffetto said, the City Council can make the changes, effective June 1, if two-thirds of the 5-member governing body deems the parking issue to be an emergency.
“Given the parking crisis, we can put an ordinance together and have it go into effect by June 1,” Raffetto said.
Quinn said the changes will act as a pilot to determine what works best to help relieve the city’s parking shortage.
“The issue…is where residents can park, where guests can park, and where employees can park,” Woerner said. “There are a limited, limited amount of spots and we have more permits out than we have number of spots. We are trying to do two things – one, limit who can park in those spots to residents and the public, and then open up more spots.”
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