5.2. SR 09-17-2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1Livcr Downtown Parking Study MANAGEMENT APPROACHES The purpose of this section is to provide parking management strategies to help improve downtown parking conditions, both currently and in the future. The parking management options detailed in this section will help improve parking efficiency, increase utilization, and meet future needs. The existing municipal parking system currently has a surplus of spaces serving the downtown area. The surplus is expected to remain in place following the full occupancy of the two new redevelopments. The existing management regulations, policies and procedures overall appear to be satisfactory given the existing surplus of spaces. Making major changes to the existing regulations is not necessary at this time. During the occupancy and turnover surveys most parkers appeared to be adhering to the posted time regulations. Not every parker will be able to find an empty space directly in front of their destination. However, empty spaces can usually be located within a reasonable distance. Striking the balance between employee, customer, and downtown resident spaces is more difficult in municipal parking systems where parking fees are not charged for every space. In systems where every space has a fee, the most convenient spaces should have the highest hourly fee and less convenient spaces have a lower fee for all day parking. The current policies in Elk River are intended to keep the most convenient spaces available for visitors/customers. This is a worthy goal and the current policies should remain in effect. However, a re-evaluation should be made after the new developments are fully occupied and the effect on the demand for spaces is known. Then if a large surplus of spaces still exists some modifications may be warranted. What ever policies are in effect they should be fair and consistent. The same rules should be applied across user groups. September 2007 Carl Walker, Inc. 33