Attachment B
City of Pasadena
Playhouse Village Paid Parking Project
Recommendation
Prepared by Dixon Resources Unlimited
on behalf of the City of Pasadena and the Playhouse Village Association November 2023
DIXON
RESOURCES U N 1_ ! M I TED
PAVA D E N A fc°oNNKETmT^1
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
0 Plduhouse
^lage
In the heart of Pasadena
Introduction
The primary goal of this project is to introduce paid parking strategically in Playhouse Village, with the goal of enhancing parking availability and turnover. By charging for parking in high-demand areas, the project aims to encourage efficient space utilization and reduce congestion caused by vehicles searching for parking.
This report provides insights into the objectives, benefits, rate structures, revenue projections, and expected positive outcomes that the Playhouse Village Paid Parking Project is set to bring to the community. The project's two-zone approach, Zone A and Zone B, is designed to ensure equitable parking rates that balance the needs of different areas within Playhouse Village.
What is the Playhouse Village Paid Parking Study?
The City of Pasadena (City) has been working with Dixon Resources Unlimited (DIXON), a parking consulting firm, to determine when, where, and how on-street paid parking will be implemented in Playhouse Village.
This has been a collaborative process in partnership with the Playhouse Village Association, and the project has included several opportunities for input and feedback.
When did the Playhouse Village Paid Parking Study Start and Where Are We Now?
Stakaholdar
Outraach
Stakeholder
Outrsach
Stakeholder
Outreach
Prepare & Study
Equipment options
Develop draft zone map
Develop equipment RFP
Summer 2022
Procure
Publish equipment RFP
Financial modeling
Vendor selection &
evaluation
Community demonstration
Winter 2022
WE ARE|
HERE
Action '<^
PVA Board Presentations
City Council approval
Equipment installation
Fall 2023 - Spring 2024
Although this project has been in progress for some time, DIXON's involvement started in 2020. Over the past few years, there has been ongoing occupancy data collection, several public outreach and stakeholder meetings, solicitation and procurement, and public surveys that have led to the recommended approach detailed in this document. The City is now awaiting approval by the Playhouse Village Executive Board and Pasadena City Council to move forward with this long awaited and much needed project. Pending approval, the tentative go live date for this project is July 1st, 2024.
Why is the City considering paid parking in Playhouse Village? How is it beneficial?
The City has conducted this study to determine when, where, and how on-street paid parking should be implemented to optimize the parking experience in Playhouse Village. Charging for parking in high-demand areas encourages vehicle turnover and increases the availability of convenient parking. Paid parking can also 2 provide additional customer convenience, such as the flexibility to extend individual parking sessions and encouraging long-term parking to shift to off-street parking facilities.
The paid parking solution has considered the needs of businesses and property owners, employees, customers, visitors, students, and residents. For this approach, the Playhouse Village has been divided into two parking zones. Zone A is considered the core Playhouse Village parking zone and warrants a higher parking rate for premium parking. Zone B is considered the perimeter zone and warrants a lower parking rate as it is further from the core destinations.
Below is a map of the proposed zones. Highlighted in red is the core zone, or Zone A, and in black is the perimeter zone, or Zone B. These zones were determined based on local knowledge of the area by the City and Playhouse Village staff and the data provided by the DIXON Data Suite License Plate Recognition (LPR) tool which provides parking occupancy and turnover data overtime.
Pasadena Playhouse Metered Parking Zones
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Zone A I
Zone B
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The parking industry-standard target for on-street parking occupancy rate is 85 percent. At this rate, there are enough vacant parking spaces to 1) minimize congestion from drivers searching for spaces and 2) reduce oversupply, which is an inefficient and costly use of valuable land. Typically, the highest-demand locations are priced at a premium while underutilized areas are incentivized with a discounted rate. 3 Occupancy in last six months by time of day - Playhouse Village Zone A Below you will find two maps providing the peak occupancy data over the last 6 months in Zone A and Zone B. This data is divided in three peaktime frames; 12pm - 3pm, 3pm - 6pm, and 6pm-9pm. These times have been provided to show the consistency of a high occupancy throughout a day. The higher occupancy data provided warrants a change to the current time-limit parking program to increase the accessibility of parking.
The recommended change would be to implement paid parking in these areas. The City is proposing to implement paid parking from 1 1 am - 8pm in these two zones.
Occupancy June 1 - November 26,2023 - Zone A - 247 Spaces 12pm-3pm3pm-6pm
Peak Occupancy
6pm-9pm
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< 50%
No Data
To better understand the data, it is importantto understand what "peak" occupancy means. "Peak occupancy" refers to the highest level of parking utilization observed at a specific location or during a particular period.
It represents the moment when parking demand reaches its maximum, often during the busiest times ofthe day or year, such as during rush hours, special events, or holidays.
As can be seen on the map above, during peak times, the occupancy rate has exceeded the 85% threshold throughout most of Zone A warranting a need for paid parking implementation at a higher rate than the perimeter area.
4 Occupancy in last six months by time of day - Playhouse Village Zone B As can be seen on the map below, during peak parking times the occupancy rate has exceeded the 85% threshold throughout most of Zone B. This warrants a need for paid parking implementation in this area at a slightly discounted rate compared to Zone A, incentivizing parking in the lesser used areas of Zone B.
Occupancy June 1 - November 26, 2023 - Zone B - 321 Spaces 12pm-3pm3pm-6pm
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50-70%
< 50%
No Data
Peak Occupancy6pm-9pm
Repeat Parkers
To optimize parking resources, it is advisable to have employees park in designated areas or less desirable spaces, ensuring prime and convenient spots are available for visitors and customers. In the Playhouse District, an analysis of LPR data from the past 6 months revealed that 5% of parkers were repeat users. This data raises concerns about employees possibly occupying prime spaces during working hours. Additionally, 4% of parkers were observed parking twice a day on the same block, indicating potential abuse of the system by employees repeatedly parking while at work. Given this information and the consistently high parking occupancy, the implementation of paid parking is justified to address these issues and better manage the parking space allocation.
The image below shows the percentages per street and overall percentage over the last 6 months. 5 I
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How much will parking cost?
Two different rate structures have been recommended for the Playhouse Village. Parking should be priced with the intent of reaching the target 85% parking occupancy rate, so that there is usually some available parking on each block. These rate structures will aim to better balance the rates of on-street parking and nearby off-street parking facilities. The rate structure recommendations are as follows:
Escalated Rate Model for Two Zones
1 Hourly Rate Model for Two Zones
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Zone A - Escalating
$2 per hour for hours 1 & 2
$4 for optional hour 3
Mon-Sat
11 am-8pm
Zone B - Escalating
$1.25 per hour for hours 1 & 2
$2 for optional hour 3
Zone A- Hourly
$2 per hour
2-hour max
Zone B - h-lourly
$1.25 per hour
2-hour max
1 The implementation of escalating rate options allows for increased customer flexibility. Customers would be able to pay a premium for an additional third hour of parking. Escalating rate structures can influence parking behaviors, manage congestion, encourage alternative transportation options, and can reduce environmental impacts of cars circling blocks while waiting to find parking. 7 How much revenue will the paid parking program generate? Based on financial modeling projections, to maximize revenue, it is recommended to implement the escalating rate structure. Based on these rates and first-year expenditures (which include one-time equipment purchase costs, associated transaction fees, and projected occupancy and compliance rates) the projected revenue can be seen below.
Escalated Rate Model for Two Zones
1 Hourly Rate Model for Two Zones
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fto^^!n" Zone A - Escalating
TRevenue $913,691
Equip& Operation Cost $314,343
Net Gain/Loss $599,348
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Zone A- Hourly
Revenue $608,902
Equip & Operation Cost $320,989
Net Gain/Loss $287,913
Year 1
Zone B - Escalating
Revenue $755,151
Equip& Operation Cost $356,082
Net Gain/Loss $399,069
Zone B - Hourly
Revenue $423,925
Equip & Operation Cost $384,400
Net Gain/Loss $39,525
These operation costs do not include installation and taxes. The City will determine if installation of the equipment will be done in-house or go out to bid. The City will begin this process once approval for the project has been made.
8 A summary of the approximate one-time purchasing costs of the multi-space pay stations and associated fees is as follows.
Pay Stations
Procurement Cost
Quantity
Zone A
46 Zone B
49 Total
95 Unit Cost*$5,251$5,251
Total Procurement$241,546$257,299$498,845
Recurring Annual Costs
Annual Software Fees
Zone A
$624 per Unit
Zone B
$624 per Unit
Annual Costs
$59,280
Est. Spares & Misc. Costs$24,154$25,729$49,884
Annual Warranty (YR 2-4) $290 per Unit$290 per Unit$27,550 Credit Card Fees
(Per Transaction)$0.48$0.96Varies by usage
*Plus Tax
The City intends to negotiate the credit card merchant processing fees once approval is given for implementation.
What will happen with the revenue from paid parking?
In close collaboration with the Playhouse Village Association, the City plans to develop a Playhouse Meter Zone Advisory Commission which will provide investment recommendations to the City Council. While no determinations have been made so far, it is anticipated that any net revenue from paid parking will be returned to the Playhouse Village community for reinvestment. This could include funds for beautification, such as street and sidewalk cleaning, trash collection, streetscape improvements, neighborhood art, and more.
What type of parking meters will be installed?
The City has chosen multi-space pay stations for implementation, considering factors such as user- friendliness, signage, aesthetics, equipment size, and operations. Public input was sought during the selection process. These stations can be programmed for hourly parking with a free or grace period option.
Currently, throughout various meter zones, the City operates approximately 140 pay stations using a pay and display setup, transitioning to pay by plate technology. Of these, approximately 500 are older models requiring physical upgrades for the pay-by-plate configuration, while about 90 newer models need only a software upgrade. Mobile payment options have also been introduced for customer convenience. Currently the City does not charge for parking within the Playhouse district except for one block face where an older version pay station is being used.
To maintain consistency, it's recommended to deploy the same multi-space pay stations across all paid parking areas, including Playhouse, and utilize the mobile payment program already in place in Pasadena. 9 The selected pay stations will operate similarly but use the Pay-By-License Plate platform, where customers enter their license plate number for payment, allowing the City to verify payments through License Plate Recognition (LPR). Payment options include coins or credit cards.
Alongside the pay stations, the City will implement its mobile payment platform, Passport, and offer a pay- by-text solution, providing easy, convenient, and accessible payment options for customers.
An example of what the pay station could look like has been provided below. <
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Hardware Features
Long ,i;e u.;i;.: -* ,.. ,uiti! power
9.7" toiich r!ispl,Tiy •,i:;een option for
advanced screen customization and
friendly customer service
Secure, PClLevel 1 card processing
46 wireless communications
Anti-fishing of coins / Coin escrow
Anti-card skimming
Graphical Printer & E-Receipts
Upgiadt-'.fblp ri^siyn
Key Software Features
Coniple/. ;cii'.' -i'i,..'ii:>^
Strong parking rights [iiandgt"nent
Progressive pricing
Forced rotation
Special rates per plate
Free time
Remote software downloads
Citation payments
Validation code acceptance
Advertising / Local News
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What about private parking locations for employee parking? The City conducted widespread outreach to local businesses who have off-street parking assets for their interest in shared parking agreements with the City, which would allow for managed public parking at off- street private locations. As of today, one local business has expressed interest in a shared parking agreement with the City. This is an evolving process that continues to be pursued by the City. It is anticipated that interest and participation in these shared parking agreements will grow as the program is implemented; however, the City in conjunction with its partners, will negotiate the terms ofthese agreements priorto implementation.
These shared parking agreement programs would allow for the City to implement an employee parking permit program and provide a discounted parking permit (lower than market rate) for employees to purchase, who work in the different paid parking zones. 10