Addendum (PDF) — Paso Robles City Council, February 21, 2023

CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES
"The Pass of the Oaks"
City Council Agenda Addendum

Tuesday, February 21, 2023, 6:30 PM
Council Chamber 1000 Spring Street, Paso Robles
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Pages
M. DISCUSSION ITEMS
*2. Downtown On-Street Parking Program 3 - 212
Damian Nord, Police Chief
CEQA Determination: The City find that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State Guidelines Section State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15060, subd. (b)(2)-(3), 15378.

Recommendation: It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:

1. Authorize the City Manager to execute the contract renewal with Flowbird to include ongoing hardware services, on-site maintenance services two times per year, and digital services including mobile application and pay by text with a fixed annual cost not to exceed $66,605 plus variable transaction fees and authorizing the City Manager and City Attorney to make minor, technical and non-substantive changes to the agreement as necessary with the Council’s overall intent;

2. Approve a 12-month Resident Pilot Parking Program that provides residents with five free hours of parking per month; and

3. Approve a 12-month Pilot Merchant Validation Parking Program that provides downtown merchants the ability to prepurchase parking hours at a 50% discounted parking rate.
*O. COUNCIL BUSINESS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS 213 - 216
Council Agenda Report
From: Damian Nord, Police Chief
Subject: Downtown On-Street Parking Program
CEQA Determination: The City find that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State Guidelines Section State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15060, subd. (b)(2)-(3), 15378.

Date: February 21, 2023
Facts

1. On January 31, 2023, City Council reviewed options for a resident discount parking program, merchant validation program, and extension of the Cale/Flowbird contract. City Council tabled the discussion to the next regular meeting and requested a presentation on the following topics:
 Parking program cost/revenue projections
 Cost benefit analysis of timed parking vs paid parking  Financial costs of parklets in lost parking revenue
 Estimated contract costs with transaction fees
 Financial comparison: 5 vs 10 hours of free parking for City residents  Senior permit program review

2. The WayToPark application used since inception of the paid parking program–created at no cost to the City–has been discontinued and is no longer active as of February 10, 2023. Our current vendor, Flowbird (previously known as Cale America), offers an enhanced mobile application with optional features such as ‘pay by text’.

Options

1. Take no action;

2. Authorize the City Manager to execute the contract renewal with Flowbird to include ongoing hardware services, on-site maintenance services two times per year, and digital services including a mobile parking application and a pay by text feature with a fixed annual cost not to exceed $66,605 plus variable transaction fees; approve a 12-month resident discount pilot program; and approve a subsidized discounted merchant validation program for downtown merchants.

3. Provide alternative recommendations and/or direction to staff.

Analysis and Conclusions
At the January 31, 2023, City Council meeting, staff presented available program enhancements via a new mobile parking application. Additionally, Council received a presentation, detailing options to implement a program that would offer City residents free monthly parking hours.

After the discussion at the January 31, 2023 Council meeting, staff identified three parking program options Council could adopt to reduce parking costs for merchants and/or City residents. They are as follows:

Option 1: Adopt a resident parking program that provides free monthly parking hours (e.g., five hours per month) to verified City residents as presented at the January 31, 2023 City Council meeting. It should be noted that each mobile parking transaction, independent of hours used, would still incur a five-cent vendor transaction fee. This option would result in less parking program revenue and an increase of costs borne by the City.

Option 2 (in place of Option 1 above): Adopt a parking program that offers City residents and merchants the ability to purchase parking hours at a 50% discounted rate. Prepaying hours would incentivize merchants to market their business by subsidizing parking costs for patrons. Allowing residents to prepay parking hours, at a discounted rate, would reduce costs associated with parking in paid parking zones. It should be noted that both the downtown merchants and City residents could purchase parking hours at a 50% discounted rate. To prepurchase parking hours, staff recommends a $100 minimum purchase to reduce the per transaction costs. Each transaction, once used, regardless of hours used, would incur a five-cent vendor transaction fee, or up to $5 per $100 transaction.

Option 3 (in place of option 2 above): Would not provide a program to local’s directly, but rather this option would adopt a subsidized merchant validation parking program as presented to Council on January 31, 2023, offering merchants the ability to purchase bulk discounted parking. Again, staff recommends a $100 minimum purchase to reduce costs for the City by limiting transaction fees. Similarly, each transaction, regardless of hours used, would incur that same five-cent vendor transaction fee.

Fiscal Impact
Projecting future parking program revenue and costs poses unique challenges due a lack of data correlated with the parking habits of our consumers during their first two hours of parking. Because the City has been offering two hours of free parking, staff is unable to establish the parking habits of consumers during their first two hours of free parking. Put another way, there is no data revealing if the initial parking session lasts five minutes or 1 hour and 59 minutes.

For the purposes of this report, and to provide estimates as directed by Council, parking staff utilized statistical parking data from various sources. The City analyzed local WayToPark and Flowbird Kiosk data and data from outside jurisdictions for assumptions to better predict revenue and costs. Until the City can collect data on the average stay attributable to a local consumer’s first two hours of parking, assumed revenue and cost predictions could vary greatly.

Option 1: The fiscal impacts for proposed mobile parking application enhancements, a merchant validation program, and a resident discount program were provided to Council at the January 31, 2023, Council meeting (see attachments). This option will increase costs borne by the City and reduce parking program revenue.

Option 2: If adopted, would provide City residents and merchants the option to prepay for parking at a 50% discounted rate. Each parking session would incur a $0.05 transaction fee charged by the vendor and any associated merchant credit card fees. It is unknown how many residents will pre-purchase bulk parking, therefore, estimating the cost of lost parking revenue is not possible. This option will increase costs borne by the City and reduce parking program revenue.

Option 3: If Council were to adopt this option, and provide a prepaid parking discount to merchants only, each validated parking session would incur a $0.05 transaction fee and any associated merchant credit card fees.

Merchants could pre-purchase bulk parking sessions at a 50% discount. Transaction fees would be paid by the City using parking program revenue. It is unknown how many merchants will pre-purchase bulk parking therefore estimating the cost of lost parking revenue is not possible. This option will increase costs borne by the City and reduce parking program revenue.

Should the City authorize a contract with Flowbird and implement a mobile parking application, the consumer would incur a per parking transaction fee (not hour) of $0.25. As a point of emphasis transaction fees are charged per transaction, not per hour. If the consumer uses a parking Kiosk, there is not a transaction fee. For the price conscious parking consumer, using a kiosk to initiate a parking transaction is the most economical method to pay for parking.

The contract with Flowbird also includes merchant fees (charged to the City) for all credit card transactions.

The merchant fee is 30 cents plus 3% of the transaction amount. This fee applies to all credit card transactions regardless of whether payment is made at the kiosks, the app, or by text. As a point of emphasis merchant fees for credit card transactions are charged per transaction, not per hour. For a 1-hour ($2) parking session, the merchant credit card fee is 36 cents; for 2 hours ($4), the merchant credit card fee is 42 cents. It is unknown how many credit card transactions there will be. Historically, 98% of all paid parking transactions have been paid by credit card.

CEQA
The City finds that this action is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(5), because the approval involves organizational or administrative matters of the government that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.

Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council take the following actions:

2. Approve a 12-month Resident Pilot Parking Program that provides residents with five free hours of parking per month; and

3. Approve a 12-month Pilot Merchant Validation Parking Program that provides downtown merchants the ability to prepurchase parking hours at a 50% discounted parking rate.

Attachments

1. Flowbird Contract Addendum with Rate Sheet

2. Downtown Parking Map

3. December 20, 2022 Staff Report

4. January 31, 2023 Staff Report

5. December 20, 2022 City Council PowerPoint Presentation

6. January 31, 2023 City Council PowerPoint Presentation

7. February 21, 2023 City Council PowerPoint Presentation

8. Parking Program Flyer

9. 2002 Paso Robles Downtown Parking Report

10. 2008 PDG Paso Robles Parking Management Plan

11. 2018 Summary of Downtown Parking Studies
Attachment 1

FIRST ADDENDUM TO THE CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

AGREEMENT
THIS FIRST ADDENDUM is made and entered in on this 31st day of January 2023, by and between the City of El Paso de Robles, a California municipal corporation, (“City”), and CALE AMERICA, INC., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with its principal place of business at 13190 56th Ct. Ste 401, Clearwater, FL (“Consultant”), to amend the CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT signed and executed by the parties on June 18, 2019.

WITNESSETH:

WHEREAS, the parties entered into a City of El Paso De Robles Professional Services Agreement on June 18, 2019, (hereinafter “Original Agreement”); and WHEREAS, work is still ongoing; and
WHEREAS, the Parties agree that the City requests Consultant be Merchant of Record for credit card transactions generated on the Cale America Multi-Space Kiosks; and WHEREAS, both parties to the Original Agreement desire to amend them to include additional professional services of similar scope to those described in the Original Agreement and include compensation for the additional services.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual promises made herein and other valuable consideration, the parties hereto now amend the Original Agreement as follows:

1. AMENDMENTS:

1. Services. Consultant shall provide the City with the services described in and attached hereto as Exhibit A.

2. Compensation. The City shall pay for such services in accordance with the services provided set forth in Exhibit A.

3. Term. The term of the Original Agreement shall be extended to a termination date of July 31, 2023. On July 31, 2023, the Agreement shall be automatically renewed for the following twelve (12) month period upon the same terms and conditions unless (i) one Party gives written notice of the non-renewal to the other party or (ii) Cale America advises City of a price increase, at least sixty (60) calendar days prior to the end of the 12-month period with a final expiration date of July 31, 2030.

4. Merchant of Record.
i. Cale America will settle with the City for card transactions on a monthly basis on or before the 15th day of each month. The settlement will be for the cleared funds Cale America received for the transactions processed for the City since the prior settlement date. The settlement payments will be net of Cale America fees (under 2). The City will be liable for all refunds, chargebacks, fines and other amounts (such as issuer claims of Attachment 1
fraudulent transactions or billing disputes) payable under card network rules.
ii. The City will pay Cale America a fee of 3% of each transaction plus a fee per transaction of $0.30 for its services related to the card transactions.

Such amount will be deducted from the monthly settlement. iii. The City will promptly review all statements from Cale America and the processor and will promptly notify Cale America of any errors. The City acknowledges that if it does not notify Cale America of an error on a statement within five (5) days, neither it nor the processor will be obligated to reimburse it for such error, and Cale America shall have no liability to the City for any such amount.
iv. The City will be responsible for responding to and resolving all cardholder billing inquiries and disputes related to card transactions, in each case in the time period required by the processor or card network in accordance with card network rules.
v. Cale America assumes no liability arising from a chargeback or reversal of a transaction as a result of the EMV “liability shift”, as provided under the card network rules.
vi. The card services will commence on <date> and remain in effect for a period of 36 months. However, Cale America may terminate the card services at any time due to (i) any failure of the City to perform its obligations, (ii) card network or processor complaints as to Cale America’s merchant of record status, (iii) unanticipated costs relating to Cale America’s merchant of record activities or, (iv) risks associated with such activities under applicable law or regulations.
vii. Upon the termination of the card services for any reason, the City shall remain liable for all costs and liabilities related to card transactions made prior to the termination.

2. OTHER TERMS:All other terms and conditions of the Original Agreement shall continue to apply.

3. ENTIRE AGREEMENT: This first Addendum is a written instrument pursuant to Section 24 of the Original Agreement between the parties and cannot be altered or amended except by written instrument, signed by all parties.

Attachment 1
IN WITNESS WEREOF the parties hereto have caused this First Addendum to be executed the day and year first herein above written.

CITY OF EL PASO DE ROBLES
1000 Spring Street
Paso Robles, CA 93446
SERVICE PROVIDER:

Cale America, Inc.
13190 56th Ct, Ste 401
Clearwater, FL 33760
Attachment 1

EXHIBIT A
On Going Service
Product Name Quantity Unit Price Term Year
Flowbird Cloud hosted Backoffice
Includes: All Mode Configuration
Maintenance alarms alerts to cell phone
Reporting (standard)
Standard Credit Card Gateway
Cellular Communication Plan
24/7 Support 35 $648.00 Per Year $22,680.00
Flowbird Extended Warranty Program - PartSmart
Includes: The PartSmart program extends the manufacturing warranty after the initial warranty expires. 35 $360.00 Per Year $12,600.00 FlowbirdCloud hosted Permit System
Includes: Web Portal for end users,
Admin Console,
Reporting tools,
Enforcement integration 1 $12,000.00 Per Year
$0 (fee w aived
per agreement)
On Going Service Total: $35,280.00
Optional - Products
Product Name Unit List Price Discount Price per unit
Optional Upgrade to 9.7” Screen EA $2,850.00 55% $1282.50 Box of 10 rolls of paper Box $295.00 10% $265.50
Optional - Digital Services
Product Name Unit List Price Paid by
PayByText Pre-paid session $0.25
Convenience fee to
end user *
ExtendByText Per Extension $0.25
Convenience fee to
end user *
Text Message Receipts Pre Text $0.03 Paid By City
Mobile App Pre-paid session $0.25
Convenience fee to
end user *
Merchant Validation System Per validation used $0.05 Paid By City Local Resident System Per validation used $0.05 Paid By City * Convenience fee will be paid by end user to the city and vendor will then invoice city based on number of transactions.

On-site Services
Product Name Unit Price
Preventive Maintenance (2 visits per year)
Package includes two scheduled on-site visits with
preventive maintenance service to all meters. Per meter and year $895.00 Attachment 1
Preventive Maintenance (4 visits per year)
Package includes four scheduled on-site visits with
preventive maintenance service to all meters.

Plan has 10% discount for field service calls. Per meter and year $1,295.00 FIELD SERVICE CALL - $135/hr - On-site meter maintenance by a Flowbird-certified technician. Travel time and approved travel costs, if any, will apply; 1-hour minimum local or 4-hour minimum if over 50 miles PROGRAMMING & CONFIGURATION SUPPORT - $350 per Person/PDR Set-up fee per rate or tariff for up to 4 hours of programming, testing and delivery for common meter parameter changes and customization, rate changes, display and/or receipt language changes, graphic design and UI changes, merchant account changes, WebOffice or Smartfolio configuration changes, report requests, and custom database queries. Also applies to Help Desk Service accounts, including ticket template changes, call script changes and retraining, mobile device/app support; An additional fee of $95/hr will be charged for hours in excess of 4 hours. Shipping costs for SD cards or SRAM service cards will apply if programming changes cannot be downloaded remotely.

Attachment 2
Council Agenda Report
From: Ty Lewis, City Manager
Chris Huot, Assistant City Manager
Damian Nord, Police Chief
Ryan Cornell, Administrative Services Director
Subject: Downtown On-Street Parking Program

CEQA Determination: The City find that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State Guidelines Section State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15060, subd. (b)(2)-(3), 15378.

Date: December 20, 2022
Facts

1. In 2019, the City initiated a downtown paid parking program. The goals of the program were to manage on-street demand (to maintain adequate occupancy rates); use technology to improve the parking experience; create an employee parking program; and to create a program that will be cost-neutral by the fifth year.

2. Since implementation, the paid parking program has been successful in managing on-street demand and the City has developed a robust employee (and senior) parking program. However, to date the userfriendliness of current parking program, the accompanying technology, and cost-neutrality of the program has not been achieved.

3. City Council has held a series of public meetings over the past several years to address the concerns of the paid parking program. In 2022, public meetings consisted of the following:
a. On February 1, 2022, City Council deferred enacting recommended modifications, by the Downtown Parking Advisory Commission (DPAC), to the terms and conditions of the pilot senior parking permit program. Council directed staff to update the DPAC on parking program financial information, apply financial data to create a strategy aimed at increasing parking program cost recovery and to bring additional options regarding residency requirements for the senior permit program.
b. On March 3, 2022, the DPAC reviewed occupancy and financial data for the parking program.

The commission voted to recommend to City Council to change the paid parking program rates to increase cost recovery. The Commission declined to review their recommendation from November regarding senior permits.
c. On March 15, 2022, City Council reviewed the financial data for the parking program. City Council continued the discussion of the paid parking rates with direction to bring additional figures on differential tier rates and some preliminary information on what it would take to consider a TOT increase as it related to funding sources for future parking –related improvements and operations. d. On April 9, 2022, both the City Council and the Downtown Parking Advisory Commission held a joint meeting to discuss modifications to the parking rates. At that time, City Council directed staff to maintain the parking program in its current form; to explore funding strategies for a parking structure; and to provide an update in six months.

Options
Agenda Item 21 Page No. 777 CC Agenda 12-20-2022 Page 1 of 8 Attachment 3

1. Take no action;

2. Approve eliminating free parking within existing paid parking zones and increase the hourly rate to $2 per hour, remove the permit parking area within the City Hall/Library and train station parking lots, upgrade parking system related technology, and implement a program for local residents subject to future City Council review;

3. Provide alternative recommendations and/or direction to staff.

Analysis and Conclusions
In 2019, the City implemented a paid parking program in order to address parking availability concerns in the core of the downtown area. The program, in its current form, provides patrons with two free hours of parking per day, and charges for $1 per hour thereafter.

The program has achieved several objectives:
• Improved on-street parking availability for visitors, customers, and residents (85% occupancy rate during peak days and hours since implementation of the program which is considered a best practice occupancy level target);
• Improved parking turnover and customer convenience for local businesses; and • Limited employees from parking directly in front of local businesses for multiple hours.

The revenues from the parking program are largely paid for by visitors and has not adversely impacted downtown businesses. However, based on a wholistic staff review of the program, including feedback from users, the program’s initial free parking and the associated technology does not lend itself to be cost-neutral or user-friendly.

As previously mentioned, the parking program has yet to achieve cost neutrality through permitting, existing hourly parking rates, or by enforcement penalties. The program’s solvency was negatively impacted by significant start-up costs and the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless, the parking program is not generating enough revenue to sustain upfront and ongoing costs. As of June 30, 2022, the General Fund loan to the Parking Fund (loan provided for startup costs and initial ongoing operations) is approximately $660,000 (approximately 80% of the loan amount is related to one-time equipment needs such as kiosk, vehicles, license plate readers, etc.).
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Aug 21 Nov 21 Feb 22 May 22 Aug 22 Nov 22
On-Street Core Historical Occupancy
9:00 AM 12:00 PM 3:00 PM 6:00 PM 85%
Agenda Item 21 Page No. 778 CC Agenda 12-20-2022 Page 2 of 8 Attachment 3 Since May 2021, the paid parking revenues average $11,800 per month; during the same time period, on-going expenses were just under $30,000 per month. As a result, the current fee structure simply will not achieve cost neutrality. In fact, the only reason the interfund loan is not larger is because of parking enforcement that has occurred since January 2022. Since then, the City has received approximately $250,000 in citation revenue, an average of about $28,500 per month (not included in the chart below). Citation revenue is a revenue stream that is accounted for in the downtown parking program and will be used towards ongoing operations and to pay down the general fund loan; however, it is not a good business model to be dependent on citation revenue, as the intent of the parking program is compliance, not enforcement.

The other major problem with the current parking program relates to the confusion of the program. Specifically, the most common reason for a citation relates to the first two hours of free parking, in that a typical patron does not register their license plate into the parking system if they are planning to spend less than two hours in the area. However, registering license plates is the only mechanism to determine whether a car is authorized to park or not, so all patrons must register their plates regardless of whether or not their parking session is free.

To best remedy this situation is to charge for parking at the first minute. If paid parking occurs from the first minute, patrons must pay first, which will require entering of license plate information. Staff is not aware of any on-street paid parking program that combines “free” and paid parking within the same parking space, in the same parking session.

Charging for parking at the first minute will also address the lack of revenues the program is currently recognizing, as the vast majority of parking sessions today are free. How much revenue the City will receive if it were to charge from minute-one is unknown but estimated to be approximately $1 million. The reason for not knowing how much revenues will be received specifically is because current data cannot differentiate between someone who parks for 10 minutes, and someone who parks for one hour, 50 minutes, as both of those parking sessions are free. The City of San Luis Obispo has had a parking program for several years and the average parking session is one hour and fifteen minutes. Based on the average number of sessions our City has seen over the past several years, assuming an average session of one hour, fifteen minutes, and at $2 per hour, that calculates to approximately $85,000 per month.

The other major cause of confusion with the current parking program relates to the WayToPark application (app), in that it does not always work properly. This app was provided to the City at no charge and is one of the only app’s that does not charge the City for when patrons have a free parking session (most app’s will still charge a per transaction fee, even if the parking session is free). Furthermore, as of December 31, 2022, the -
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
07/01/1909/01/1911/01/1901/01/2003/01/2005/01/2007/01/2009/01/2011/01/2001/01/2103/01/2105/01/2107/01/2109/01/2111/01/2101/01/2203/01/2205/01/2207/01/2209/01/22 Parking Fee Revenues by Month
Agenda Item 21 Page No. 779 CC Agenda 12-20-2022 Page 3 of 8 Attachment 3 company is no longer supporting this app and the City needs to change vendors. This will have a direct increase in cost to the parking program, further indicating the need for increased parking revenues. City staff will be exploring options, including utilization of multiple applications, so that patrons can potentially use the same app in multiple cities, which is becoming an increasingly common parking management best practice.

Addressing Parking for Locals
One of the greatest challenges with the paid parking program relates to the fairness to local residents. To-date, the City has implemented a senior citizen and an employee parking program to mitigate those impacts. Staff is not recommending any changes to those existing programs. Currently there are approximately 1,755 parking spaces in the downtown area; 477 of those are the premium spaces that are part of the paid parking program; 171 are reserved for the employee parking program; and 1,037 spaces are not part of this parking program and are free to park in. Nearly 60 percent of on street and public parking lot spaces within 1/3 mile of City Park are free for the entire day.

Nonetheless, staff is exploring “coupon” or “credit” options to provide more opportunities for residents to utilize the paid parking spaces at a discounted rate. It is envisioned that this coupon option will allow free hours of parking for residents by going through a one-time verification process and then entering a code into the kiosk or via an app. Staff is still developing the details and will be provided for City Council consideration in the near future.

Lastly, staff is recommending converting two employee permit parking lots to unpaid spaces: the first is located at the City Hall/Library and the other across the street from the City Hall Annex building, next to the train station. Currently, half of the City Hall/Library parking lot is free, and the other half employee parking. Staff recommends converting the entire lot as free parking. This will provide additional options for locals to park for free and will also reduce confusion in this parking lot, since half the lot is free and half permit-only parking.

This will increase accessibility for those needing to access City services or participate in public meetings and events that take place at City Hall. The parking lot by the City Hall Annex is significantly utilized and would be better suited for a local’s option to park for free.

Parking Structure
Paid spaces,
477, 27%
Unpaid spaces,
1037, 59%
Permit spaces,
171, 10%
Time limit
spaces, 36,
2%
ADA Spaces, 34,
2%
Parking Spaces within Downtown Area
Agenda Item 21 Page No. 780 CC Agenda 12-20-2022 Page 4 of 8 Attachment 3 Based on existing on-street parking demand, the number of free parking spots within a walkable distance of the downtown core area, and fiscal considerations, a parking structure is not recommended at this time. With over 1,000 free spaces within 1/3 mile of City Park, adding additional paid public parking in the form of a parking structure is not justified. Furthermore, construction of a parking structure is currently estimated to be $36,000 to $44,000 per space and ongoing operating costs will likely exceed six figures annually.

The City of San Luis Obispo’s new structure currently under construction is estimated to be $134,000 per space.

To pay for construction and operations, the City recently approved the doubling of downtown parking rates, effective July 2023. Certain parking related fines will increase by $5 to $27. The City is also considering eliminating the first-hour-free component to parking structure rates.

Should the need arise in the future to consider a parking structure, several items will need to be addressed, including, but not limited to:

Item Notes
Capital Funding
Is it paid for by a bond measure requiring a
property assessment to local property owners?;
Paid by revenues generating from setting on-street
parking rates at a level sufficient to generate cash
flow for existing operations and debt service?
Operating Funding
Must consider funding mechanism/rate structure
to support ongoing operations and maintenance,
including security, cleaning, maintenance of
required EV equipment, elevator maintenance,
lighting, payment system, etc.

Location
Will it be a standalone structure?; Included as part
of a larger municipal facility such as a City Hall
expansion project?
Community Benefit
Because on-street parking is predominately used and paid by visitors, a properly implemented system can generate revenues beyond what is necessary to offset parking operating costs. These revenues can be used to directly reinvest in the areas in which the paid parking system is located. This funding could be used to work collaboratively with downtown business owners to enhance customer experiences through increased lighting, pedestrian improvements, and other mutually beneficial improvements. This revenue could supplant general revenues that could then be used to maximize improvements that predominately benefit residents.

Fiscal Impact
Financial projections estimate that if no changes are made to the existing parking program, the program will continue to expend more than it receives. If City Council adopts recommended rate increases to $2 per hour with no free time, it is projected the program will have a net revenue within one year.

CEQA
The City find that this action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to State Guidelines Section State CEQA Guidelines, §§ 15060, subd. (b)(2)-(3), 15378.

Recommendation
Approve eliminating free parking within existing paid parking zones and increase the hourly rate to $2 per hour, remove the permit parking area within the City Hall/Library and train station parking lots, upgrade parking system related technology, and implement a program for local residents subject to future City Council review.

Agenda Item 21 Page No. 781 CC Agenda 12-20-2022 Page 5 of 8 Attachment 3 Attachments

1. Map of Parking Spaces in Downtown Core
Agenda Item 21 Page No. 782 CC Agenda 12-20-2022 Page 6 of 8 Attachment 3 Attachment 1

CITY OF PASO ROBLES

DOWNTOWN PARKING PROGRAM
Status of Current Parking Spaces Downtown
December 20, 2022
Space Type Amount %
Unpaid Spaces 1,037 59%
Paid Spaces 466 27%
Permit Spaces 171 10%
Time-Limit Spaces 47 3%
ADA Spaces 34 2%
Total Spaces 1,755
Agenda Item 21 Page No. 783 CC Agenda 12-20-2022 Page 7 of 8 Attachment 3 Attachment 1
Agenda Item 21 Page No. 784 CC Agenda 12-20-2022 Page 8 of 8 Attachment 3

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Attachment 4

DOWNTOWN

PARKING PROGRAM
City Council Regular Meeting
December 20, 2022
Attachment 5
Background
- City initiated paid parking program in
2019
- Goals:
- Manage on-street demand
- Create an employee parking program
- Cost-neutral by the 5th year
- In April 2022, Council directed staff to
maintain current program in its current
form and bring back later in year for
review
Attachment 5
The Current Problem
No Available
Parking
Implement
Parking Program
Not Fair to
Residents
Offer Free
Parking
Not Financially
Self-Sustaining
Current Program
is Confusing and
Complicated
Eliminate Paid
Parking Program

1. Why is the Current
Program Not SelfSustaining?

2. Why is the Current
Program Confusing
and Complicated?

BECAUSE WE OFFER

FREE PARKING
Attachment 5
Why a Paid Parking Program?
- Mitigates employees parking
on-street
- Improve on-street availability
for visitors, customers, and
residents
- 77% of program paid by visitors1
- Does not adversely impact
downtown businesses
Visitors,
77%
Residents,
23%
1 – Based on FY 2021-22 Citation Data
Attachment 5
On-Street Demand
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Aug 21 Nov 21 Feb 22 May 22 Aug 22 Nov 22
On-Street Core Historical Occupancy
9:00 AM 12:00 PM 3:00 PM 6:00 PM 85%
Attachment 5
Downtown Sales Tax Revenue
-
50 100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Q4 -
2017
Q1 -
2018
Q2 -
2018
Q3 -
2018
Q4 -
2018
Q1 -
2019
Q2 -
2019
Q3 -
2019
Q4 -
2019
Q1 -
2020
Q2 -
2020
Q3 -
2020
Q4 -
2020
Q1 -
2021
Q2 -
2021
Q3 -
2021
Q4 -
2021
Q1 -
2022
Q2 -
2022
Thousands
DT
Parking
Program
Begins
44% increase
Attachment 5
Parking Fund Status
- General Fund Loan Balance on
June 30, 2022: $662,025
- Startup Costs (e.g., kiosk,
technology, equipment, etc.):
$542,084
- FY 2021-22 Revenues:
$408,640 (Prior Year $95,888)
- Since Jan. 1, 2021, the Program
has a negative $14,400 cash
flow
-
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
1/1/2021
2/1/2021
3/1/2021
4/1/2021
5/1/2021
6/1/2021
7/1/2021
8/1/2021
9/1/2021
10/1/2021
11/1/2021
12/1/2021
1/1/2022
2/1/2022
3/1/2022
4/1/2022
5/1/2022
6/1/2022
7/1/2022
8/1/2022
9/1/2022
Parking Revenues, Expenses and Loan Balance
Revenues Expenses Loan Balance
Attachment 5
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
07/01/19
09/01/19
11/01/19
01/01/20
03/01/20
05/01/20
07/01/20
09/01/20
11/01/2001/01/21
03/01/21
05/01/21
07/01/21
09/01/21
11/01/21
01/01/22
03/01/22
05/01/22
07/01/22
09/01/22
44030 - Parking Fines
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
07/01/19
09/01/19
11/01/19
01/01/20
03/01/20
05/01/20
07/01/20
09/01/20
11/01/2001/01/21
03/01/21
05/01/21
07/01/21
09/01/21
11/01/21
01/01/22
03/01/22
05/01/22
07/01/22
09/01/22
47115 - EE Permit Revenue
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
07/01/19
09/01/19
11/01/19
01/01/20
03/01/20
05/01/20
07/01/20
09/01/20
11/01/2001/01/21
03/01/21
05/01/21
07/01/21
09/01/21
11/01/21
01/01/22
03/01/22
05/01/22
07/01/22
09/01/22
47116 - Downtown Parking Revenue
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
07/01/19
09/01/19
11/01/19
01/01/20
03/01/20
05/01/20
07/01/20
09/01/20
11/01/2001/01/21
03/01/21
05/01/21
07/01/21
09/01/21
11/01/21
01/01/22
03/01/22
05/01/22
07/01/22
09/01/22
Total
Operation
hours
expanded
Attachment 5
-
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
Parking Revenues, Expenses and Loan Balance (excludes start-up costs & enforcement revenue)
Revenues, less enforcement Expenses Loan Balance
Attachment 5
Paid Parking Forecast Financials

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8
$3 per Hour
$2 per Hour
$1 per Hour
Current
Millions
Estimated Revenues Estimated Expenses
Comparable City Rates:

San Luis Obispo: $2/hour
(increasing to $4/hour)
Pismo Beach: $2-$5/hour
Monterey: $2/hour
Attachment 5
The WayToPark app is being discontinued
12/31/22 and is no longer supported
Our current vendor, Flowbird is offering an
updated app with optional pay by text and QR
code
There are many other app options available
Free App Discontinuation
Attachment 5
Addressing Parking for Locals
No Changes to Senior/Employee Parking
Where to Park for Free
Conversion of City Hall/Train Station Lots
Exploring Locals Coupon/Credit Option
Attachment 5
Downtown Parking Spaces
Paid spaces,
466, 27%
Unpaid
spaces, 1037,
59%
Permit
spaces, 171,
10%
Time limit
spaces, 47,
2%
ADA Spaces,
34, 2%
Attachment 5
Addressing Parking for Locals
Exploring Locals Coupon/Credit
Option – still incurs costs
Offer free parking on dates when
locals frequent Downtown – (e.g.,
Pioneer Day, Holidays, etc.)
Attachment 5
Parking Garage
• Current demand does not justify a parking garage
• Capital costs
• Who pays? Local Voter-Approved Bonds? Existing Revenues? • At what opportunity cost?
• Cost estimates between $36,000 and $44,000 per space
• San Luis Obispo's new structure under construction @ $134,000 per space and requires system-wide rate increases to subsidize "Parking garages are seldom built as freestanding commercial ventures because parking revenues cannot cover the cost. In a study of 8 municipal parking agencies in the Middle Atlantic and New England states, Hebert Levinson found that the annual operating revenue per space ranged between 26 and 36 percent of the annual cost per new garage space." Shoup, The High Cost of Free Parking.

Attachment 5
• Staff Recommendation:
• Approve eliminating free parking within existing paid parking zones; • Increase hourly rate to $2 per hour
• Remove permit parking area within the City Hall/Library and train station parking lots
• Upgrade parking system-related technology
• Implement local’s program, subject to future City Council review Conclusion and What’s Next?
Attachment 5
Downtown Parking
Program Update
City Council Meeting
January 31, 2023
Attachment 6
Background
• City initiated paid parking program in 2019
• Goals:
• Manage on-street demand
• Create an employee parking program
• Cost-neutral by the 5th year
• In December 2022, Council reviewed the financial data for the program and approved:
• eliminate 2 free hours
• increase the rate to $2/hour
• upgrade parking system related technology
• directed staff to review options for a local discount program Attachment 6
Parking Technology Enhancements
Updated parking technology is expected to be launched on March 1, 2023 The updated Flowbird app will offer customers improved features and usability. Existing WayToPark customers will receive a link to renew their accounts with the new application.

Visitors will have the convenience of the new Pay by Text feature. Customers will receive a text message with a link to pay for parking with no need to download an app.

The Flowbird app will have a built-in map highlighting free and long-term parking location options.

Text PARKPASO
to Pay: 727563
Attachment 6
Merchant Validation
How it works:
• Merchants purchase discounted bundles of 1-hour parking codes • Codes can be used at pay stations or on the mobile app Pay station screen
Merchant provides
code to Customer
Select merchant Input code Redeem free parking
Example:

Attachment 6
Local Discount Program
How it works:
• Residents can complete an online application to participate • Each address is eligible to receive 1 unique code
• Each code provides five 1-hour free sessions per month • Code can be applied at pay station or on the mobile app • Code can be applied to any vehicle
• Remaining uses expire at the end of the month
• Code is replenished with 5 sessions on 1st of each month Attachment 6
Recommendations
• Authorize the City Manager to execute the contract renewal with Flowbird • Approve a discounted merchant validation program
• Approve a 12-month local discount pilot program
[email protected] (805) 227-PARK
Attachment 6
Downtown Parking
Program Update
City Council Meeting
February 21, 2023
Attachment 7
Background
• City initiated paid parking program in 2019
• Goals:
• Manage on-street demand
• Create an employee parking program
• Cost-neutral by the 5th year
• In December 2022, Council reviewed the parking program and approved:
• Eliminating 2 free hours
• Increasing the rate to $2/hour
• Upgrading the parking system related technology
• Directed staff to review options for a local discount program Tonight’s action cannot change the authorization received at the December 20, 2022 City Council meeting. If that is Council’s desire, a majority of Council will need to request that be brought back at a future City Council meeting for consideration.

Attachment 7
Actions for City Council Consideration
The actions for Council’s consideration are:

1. Authorize the execution the contract renewal with Flowbird to include ongoing hardware services, on-site maintenance service, and digital services including mobile pay app and pay by text with an annual cost not to exceed $66,605, plus variable transaction charges;

2. Approve a 12-month pilot parking program that provides residents free or discounted parking,

3. Approve a 12-month pilot merchant validation parking program that provides discounted parking.

Staff’s recommendation remains unchanged from the January 31, 2023 City Council meeting
Attachment 7
Council Questions/ Requests
In January 2023, Council reviewed options and tabled the discussion to February 21, 2023 and asked staff to bring back the following:
• Parking program revenue projections
• Estimated contract costs with transaction fees
• Cost benefit analysis of timed parking vs paid parking • Financial costs of parklets in lost parking revenue
• Financial comparison 5 vs 10 hours for local discount • Senior permit program review
Attachment 7
Paid Parking Forecast Financials
• We cannot accurately forecast
parking revenues because:
• Data cannot differentiate between
15-minute session vs. a 2-hour
session
• Increasing rates will change
behavior
• Assumptions:
• Same number of parking
transactions as last year
• Average session is 90 minutes
• $2 per hour with no free parking

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2
$2 per Hour
Current
Millions
Parking Revenue Projection
Estimated Revenues Estimated Expenses
As presented at the December 22, 2022 City Council meeting Attachment 7
Paid Parking Fees
Kiosk/Pay Station
Cash
• Gross Revenue: $2
• Expense
• Merchant & Flowbird Fees:
$0.00
• Bank Fees: $0.02
• Patron Cost: $2
• City Net Revenue: $1.98
Kiosk/Pay Station
Credit/Debit Card
• Gross Revenue: $2
• Expense
• Merchant Flat Fee: $0.30
• Merchant Variable Fee: $0.06
• Flowbird Fee: $0.00
• Bank Fees: $<0.01
• Patron Cost: $2
• City Net Revenue: $1.64
Attachment 7
Paid Parking Fees
App/Pay-By-Text
Not Passing Fee to User
• Revenue: $2
• Expense
• Merchant Flat Fee: $0.30
• Merchant Variable Fee: $0.06
• Flowbird Flat Fee: $0.25
• Bank Fees: $<0.01
• Patron Cost: $2
• City Net Revenue: $1.39
App/Pay by Text
Passing Fee to User
• Revenue: $2.25
• Expense
• Merchant Flat Fee: $0.30
• Merchant Variable Fee: $0.07
• Flowbird Flat Fee: $0.25
• Bank Fees: $<0.01
• Patron Cost: $2.25
• City Net Revenue: $1.63
Attachment 7
Paid Parking Fees
Locals Program/Discounted
Parking/Validated Parking
• Revenue: $0
• Expense
• Merchant and Bank Fees:
$0.00
• Flowbird Flat Fee: $0.05
• Patron Cost: $0
• City Net Revenue: $(0.05)
Attachment 7
Paid Parking Fees
Pay Options (per one, 1-hour transaction) Patron Cost City Net Revenue
Kiosk Cash $2.00 $1.98
Kiosk Credit/Debit $2.00 $1.64
App or Pay-by-Text (city absorbs fees) $2.00 $1.39
App or Pay-by-Text (passing fees to consumer) $2.25 $1.63 Locals Program/Merchant Validation $0.00 $(0.05)
Note: It is unknown how many transaction will use kiosks; how many would use the app; or how many would utilize the local’s program.

Attachment 7
Flowbird Contract Fees
Itemized Charges
Annualized
Estimated
Amounts
Base Fee $66,605
Flowbird Permit System -
Text message receipts 1,500
Locals Program (5 cents per transaction) 6,800
Merchant Validation (5 cents per transaction) 1,000
Merchant Fees (30 cents per transaction plus 3%) 196,200 Total City Costs 272,105
Mobile App Fees 50,000
Pay-By-Text Fees 13,750
Total Potential Pass-Thru Costs 63,750
Attachment 7
Timed Parking vs. Paid Parking
Timed Parking
• Only revenue source
would be citations
• Will be a subsidized
General Fund program
• Will not provide funding
for parking garage
• Limits patron stays
• Additional time and
Council actions needed
to implement
Paid Parking
• Paid for by paid parking
revenues, not from
citations
• Can be fiscally selfsustaining
• Provides patron with
flexibility on desired stay
• Encourages turnover
• Rates can be adjusted on
demand
Attachment 7
Parklets
How to calculate the value of a parking space?
• 85% targeted occupancy rate
• Paid parking rate: $2/hour
• Citation revenue with estimated 13% non-compliance rate It is projected that each space designated as a parklet rather than a parking space will have approximately $9,300 in lost parking revenue annually.

Note: This amount does not include the value of the physical parking space, just the lost revenue associated with the parking space.

Attachment 7
Local Discount Program
How it works:
• Residents complete an online application to participate • Each address is eligible to receive 1 unique code
• Each code provides five 1-hour free sessions per month • Code can be applied at pay station or on the mobile app • Code can be applied to any vehicle
• Remaining uses expire at the end of the month
• Code is replenished with 5 sessions on 1st of each month Option 1
Attachment 7
Locals Discount Program
Expected revenue impacts from providing 5 versus 10 hours of free residents parking.

Scenario # of Households*
# of Free Hours
Per Year Per
Household
# of Free Hours,
Total
Cost of Free Hour
($2/hour)
Convenience Fee
$0.05/session)
Total Annual
Revenue Impact
Offering 5 free parking hours per
household 11,960 60 717,600 $(1,435,200) $(35,880) $(1,471,080) Offering 10 free parking hours per
household 11,960 120 1,435,200 $(2,870,400) $(71,760) $(2,942,160) Offering equivalent free parking hours
to number of local transactions in
2021-22
136,000 $(272,000) $(6,800) $(278,800)
* Based on 2021 census data
Note: Total revenue impact will vary based on the number of free parking sessions used.

Local Discount Program
Attachment 7
Local Discount/Merchant Validation Program
• Verified residents/business owners can prepurchase parking hours at a 50% discounted rate.
• Each transaction regardless of hours used, would incur a $0.05 transaction fee • Prepurchase minimum of $100 (100 hours)
Option 2
• Business owners can prepurchase parking hours at a 50% discounted rate. • Each transaction regardless of hours used, would incur a $0.05 transaction fee • Prepurchase minimum of $100 (100 hours)
Option 3
Attachment 7
• Average of 11.67 senior permits are used each day = 1.34% of total parking spaces. • There were 413 senior permits sold during the 22/23 application period. • Maintaining 500 senior permits per annual cycle is sufficient at this time.

Senior Permit Utilization
Attachment 7
Council adopted the following senior parking permit terms and conditions on March 15,2022:
• Limit sales of senior permits to full-time residents of Paso Robles (modified based on City Attorney feedback)
• Require proof of vehicle ownership to the applicant in the application process, consistent with parking industry standards for permit programs • Limit the total number of permits per address to one
• Exclude Downtown employees from obtaining senior parking permits • Limit the number of senior permits sold to 500 annually • Limit sales of annual senior permits to the months of March and April • Annual senior permits valid from April 1 to March 31 each year • Offer annual permits at a rate of $30 with no prorating Senior Permit Terms & Conditions
Due to significant impacts to staff time, staff recommends continuing the senior program without change.

Attachment 7
Parking Myths
Myth: There are no free parking options.

Fact: There are 1,114 free parking spaces in
the downtown parking zone including 117
free parking spaces in the City Hall parking
lot with easy access to the Library.

Myth: There are not enough disabled
parking options.

Myth: I must pay for parking just for a quick
errand.

Myth: The senior parking program is
changing or being cancelled.

Fact: Vehicles with disabled placards are
authorized to park in any designated disabled
parking space or any downtown paid parking
space without payment or time limits.

Fact: There are 35 30-minute parking spaces
located throughout downtown that do not
require payment. A once daily 10-minute
FREE button will be added to the new app
and pay stations.

Fact: There are no recommended changes to
the senior parking program. Applications for
the 23/24 year will be available March 1st.

Attachment 7
Recommendations
• Authorize the City Manager to execute the contract renewal with Flowbird • Approve a 12-month pilot parking program that provides residents free or discounted parking
• Approve a 12-month pilot merchant validation parking program that provides discounted parking
[email protected] (805) 227-PARK
Attachment 7
Paid spaces,
466, 26%
Unpaid spaces,
1114, 61%
Permit spaces,
94, 5%
Time limit
spaces, 47, 6%
ADA Spaces, 42,
2%
Parking Spaces
Attachment 7
Signs
Paid parking
signs will
remain
unchanged
Permit parking
signs have been
updated and
will be installed
soon
Existing sign riders will be replaced
with updated Flowbird app and
PayByText information
Attachment 7

DOWNTOWN PARKING PROGRAM UPDATE
The Downtown Paso Robles Parking Program manages curb access to ensure parking availability for Downtown customers including residents and visitors.

UPDATES
PENDING: Local Downtown Parking Benefit (TBD by City Council) First 2 Hours Free $1 per hour $2 per hour
30-minute parking spaces
(no change)
WaytoPark mobile application
(discontinued)
10-minute FREE button
available for app & pay station
Flowbird mobile application
including a parking map
highlighting free & long- term
parking locations
Pay by text (no app required)

NO CHANGES
All-day Pay to Stay option
Monthly Employee Parking Permit
Senior Parking Permit Program
Discount merchant validations
{
Attachment 8

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Will there be any short-term parking options for a quick errand? A: YES! There are 35 30-minute parking spaces located throughout Downtown. These short-term spaces are FREE and conveniently located at the end of each block.

NEW FEATURE: A 10-minute FREE button will be added to the mobile application and pay stations. The 10-minute FREE button will be applicable at any Downtown paid parking space and provides a one-time daily convenience for quick access.

Q: What happened to the WaytoPark app and how can I register for the new app if I was a previous customer?
A: The WaytoPark application was discontinued and will be replaced by the new & improved Flowbird mobile application. Existing customers will receive an invitation to renew their accounts.

NEW FEATURE: The Flowbird mobile application will include a Downtown parking map that highlights free and long-term parking locations. In addition, Pay by Text (no app required) will be available as an added convenience for Downtown parking.

Q: Where can I park for free?
A: There are 1,114 FREE parking spaces in the Downtown parking zone including 117 FREE parking spaces in the City Hall parking lot which also provides convenient access to the Library.

Q:Are there any changes to the Senior Parking Pass Program? What about changes to the Downtown Employee Parking Permit Program?
A: There are no changes to the Senior Parking Pass Program or to the Downtown Employee Parking Permit Program.

NEW FEATURE: An online registration option will be added in addition to the existing in-person registration process. And, updated signs will be posted in the Downtown Employee parking lot locations.

Q: Where can I park Downtown with a disabled placard?
A: Vehicles with disabled placards are authorized to park in any designated disabled parking space or any Downtown paid parking space without payment or time limits.

Attachment 8
Final Report
Downtown Parking and Circulation
Analysis and Action Plan
Prepared for:

City of El Paso de Robles
September 2002
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. 2002
099048000
Attachment 9

FINAL REPORT

DOWNTOWN PARKING AND CIRCULATION ANALYSIS

AND ACTION PLAN
Prepared for:

City of El Paso de Robles
1000 Spring Street
El Paso de Robles, CA 93446
Prepared by:

Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.

Los Angeles Office
18425 Burbank Blvd., Suite 509
Tarzana, California 91356
September 2002
099048000
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan i September 2002

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background
• Parking demand has consistently been one of the most important issues to downtown business owners for over 30 years. In the 1970’s, a Business Improvement District (BIA) was established, public lots were constructed and meters were removed from downtown streets.
• An assessment district was established in the 1980’s to fund the construction of additional public lots in locations identified by Main Street. The City stopped requiring off-street parking for new businesses in the 1990’s to facilitate redevelopment. Revitalization success in the 2000’s has led to both real and perceived parking problems in the downtown area.
• The City initiated this Downtown Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan to provide the City of El Paso de Robles and the downtown business community with a better understanding of the current downtown parking demand and the options for addressing current and projected parking needs.
• Traffic volumes on Spring Street and on 13th Street have been increasing and are forecast to require additional lanes in the future. This report describes alternative improvements to widening Spring Street and 13th Street to 4 lanes.

Study Area and Objectives
• An ad-hoc committee comprised of business owners and City decision-makers was formed to guide the completion of this study.
• This study was conducted in downtown Paso Robles, between 6th Street, 17th Street, Olive Street and Riverside Drive. The figure below illustrates the study area. • There were four primary objectives established for the parking component of the study:
! Quantify the existing and future demand for spaces in public lots and on City streets ! Validate what the City believed were the most important issues for business owners ! Develop a plan for increasing the current and future parking supply ! Develop solutions that are not out-of-character with the downtown • The objective that was established for the circulation component of the study was to define alternative improvements to the widening Spring Street and 13th Street.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan ii September 2002 Summary of Parking Issues
• There are approximately 2,968 public (customer and employee) parking spaces within the study area. This includes 327 spaces in the City’s six public lots and 2,641 onstreet spaces. There are also approximately 1,113 parking spaces in the larger private lots within the study area.
• In general, there is a sufficient number of parking spaces downtown to meet the current customer and employee demand. However, parking demand exceeds the available supply in most of the public lots and on streets around the park during certain times of the day, and on different days of the week. The weekday business hours typically have the highest demand overall.
• There are no time restrictions that limit how long a vehicle can be parked in a public parking space. Employees, and to a lesser extent, customers, park for long periods of time in spaces that could be utilized better, and for shorter time periods, by customers. • Downtown employees and customers expect to be able to park within one block of their destination. This “expected walk distance” results in the perception that there are not enough parking spaces, and the belief that this shortage decreases business activity.
• Based on the expected walk distance, approximately 100 more spaces are needed in the downtown core in 2002. The immediate solution to this focused parking problem is to restrict the length of time a vehicle can be parked in some of the space around the park area in order to increase parking “turnover”. Many of the downtown business owners already require their employees to park for long time periods in the public lots, or the street spaces, away from the core downtown business area. However, because not all of the downtown business owners require their employees to do this, the selfenforcement is not working. This issue is creating bad feelings between some of the business owners, and between the business owners and the City. • Unless there is a change in the expected walk distance, planned development by 2007 would require approximately 350 more spaces than exist now. Longer-term solutions to increase the public parking supply are necessary for the future development and redevelopment plans to be successful. These solutions include additional public parking spaces in lots and/or structures, as well as enforced, time restricted spaces to increase parking turnover.
• Based upon input from the public and the ad-hoc committee, this report describes three optional action plans to improve the existing parking situation, and recommendations to plan for increasing the public parking supply in the future.

Summary of Circulation Issues
• The City’s General Plan Circulation Element recommends widening Spring Street and 13th Street to four lanes (two lanes in each direction). Many of the downtown business owners do not want the roadways to be widened because parking would be removed. • This report describes alternative solutions, including physical changes to the roadway network, traffic signal timing modifications and “traffic calming” strategies to divert through traffic away from downtown.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan iii September 2002

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................1 INITIAL INPUT FROM THE PUBLIC AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS ............................................................................1

2. PARKING ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................................2 STUDY AREA ........................................................................................................................................................2 PARKING SUPPLY .................................................................................................................................................2 EXISTING PARKING DEMAND ...............................................................................................................................7 FUTURE PARKING DEMAND................................................................................................................................13

3. SUMMARY OF PARKING ISSUES ............................................................................................................17 EXISTING PARKING ISSUES .................................................................................................................................17 FUTURE PARKING ISSUES ...................................................................................................................................18 EXAMPLE CITIES WITH SIMILAR ISSUES .............................................................................................................19 PARKING CODE REQUIREMENTS.........................................................................................................................20 ACCESSIBLE PARKING ........................................................................................................................................22 LOADING ZONES.................................................................................................................................................24

4. PARKING SOLUTIONS THAT WERE CONSIDERED ..........................................................................25 POLICY SOLUTIONS ............................................................................................................................................25 PHYSICAL SOLUTIONS ........................................................................................................................................29 PARKING IMPROVEMENT COSTS .........................................................................................................................31 FINANCING OPTIONS ..........................................................................................................................................31 NEW PARKING LOT AND STRUCTURE .................................................................................................................32

5. CIRCULATION ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................................36 BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................................................................36 CIRCULATION IMPROVEMENTS CONSIDERED......................................................................................................36 CIRCULATION RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................................36

THE RECOMMENDED CIRCULATION IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN ORGANIZED INTO SHORT, MEDIUM AND LONG RANGE ACTION ITEMS FOR THE CITY TO CONSIDER. THE DETAILED ACTION ITEMS ARE DESCRIBED BELOW......37

6. ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION ................................................................................................45

7. PUBLIC TRANSIT EVALUATION.............................................................................................................46 EXISTING TERMS & SERVICE..............................................................................................................................46 FUTURE SHUTTLE CONSIDERATION....................................................................................................................46

8. OPTIONAL PARKING SOLUTIONS .........................................................................................................49

SHORT, MEDIUM AND LONG RANGE SOLUTIONS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND ORGANIZED INTO THREE OPTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR THE CITY TO CONSIDER. THE FOLLOWING PAGES DESCRIBE THE DETAILED ACTION ITEMS FOR EACH OF THE THREE STRATEGIES. INFORMATION IS ALSO PROVIDED THAT DESCRIBES HOW THE SPECIFIC ACTIONS FROM THE THREE STRATEGIES COULD BE COMBINED INTO A HYBRID STRATEGY, IF NECESSARY..........49 OPTION A: INCREASE PARKING TURNOVER BY ENFORCING TIME RESTRICTIONS ..............................................49 OPTION B: INCREASE THE SUPPLY OF PUBLIC PARKING SPACES ........................................................................50 OPTION C: INCREASE TURNOVER BY INSTALLING PARKING METERS.................................................................51 COMBINATIONS OF ABOVE OPTIONS / RELATED FACTORS:................................................................................53 COST-EFFECTIVENESS ........................................................................................................................................53 PARKING ACTION PLAN OPTION MATRIX...........................................................................................................55 Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan iv September 2002 A Technical Appendix for this report is provided as a separate document

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 – Committee and Community Input Summary ...........................................................................................1 Table 2 – Parking Supply Inventory ........................................................................................................................2 Table 3 – On-Street Average Parking Occupancy ...................................................................................................7 Table 4 – Off-Street (Public Lot) Average Parking Occupancy ..............................................................................9 Table 5 – Peak Parking Occupancy .......................................................................................................................10 Table 6 – Average Parking Duration .....................................................................................................................12 Table 7 – Existing and Future Parking Demand Estimates....................................................................................14 Table 8 – Comparable City Experiences ...............................................................................................................19 Table 9 - Minimum Number of Accessible Parking Spaces ..................................................................................23 Table 10 – General Parking Improvement Costs ...................................................................................................31 Table 11 – Site Evaluation Matrix.........................................................................................................................32 Table 12 – Optional Downtown Circulator Shuttle Route Comparisons...............................................................46 Table 13 - Comparison of Costs and Revenues for Enforcement Options ............................................................52 Table 14 – Cost Effectiveness of Different Parking Supply Options.....................................................................54

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1 - Study Area Boundary..............................................................................................................................3 Figure 2 - Off-Street Public Parking Supply Locations...........................................................................................4 Figure 3 - On-Street Public Parking Supply Locations............................................................................................5 Figure 4 - Parking Analysis Zones...........................................................................................................................6 Figure 5 - Downtown Walking Distance Radius .....................................................................................................8 Figure 6 - Analysis Zone IV Peak Occupancy.......................................................................................................11 Figure 7 - Downtown Land Use Projections..........................................................................................................15 Figure 8 - Location of Probable Development Projects.........................................................................................16 Figure 9 - Effect of Time Restrictions on Zone IV Demand .................................................................................26 Figure 10 - Effect of Time Restrictions on the Study Area ...................................................................................27 Figure 11 - Potential On-Street Time Restrictions.................................................................................................28 Figure 12 - Site Dimensions of Existing Public Parking Lots ...............................................................................30 Figure 13 - Opportunity Sites for New Public Parking Facilities ..........................................................................34 Figure 14 - Typical Site Dimensions for a New Parking Facility..........................................................................35 Figure 15 - Current Traffic Flow and Diversion Objectives..................................................................................38 Figure 16 - Effect of Through Traffic Diversion ...................................................................................................39 Figure 17 - Traffic Volume and LOS Forecasts ....................................................................................................40 Figure 18 - Existing Downtown Roadway Operating Conditions .........................................................................41 Figure 19 - Traffic Calming Option.......................................................................................................................42 Figure 20 - 13th Street Closure Option...................................................................................................................43 Figure 21 - 13th Street Closure Option Inset .........................................................................................................44 Figure 22 - Downtown Circulator Route 1 ............................................................................................................47 Figure 23 - Downtown Circulator Route 2 ............................................................................................................48 Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 1 September 2002

1. INTRODUCTION
Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. was retained by the City of El Paso de Robles to complete a downtown parking and circulation analysis and action plan. The study effort included the following efforts:
• Formation of an ad-hoc committee, comprised of Planning Commission and City Council members as well as business owners and tenants.
• A field inventory to identify the number of parking spaces on the streets and in the public parking lots.
• Field surveys to quantify the average and peak demand for parking spaces on weekdays, Saturdays and on Sundays.
• License plate surveys to determine how long vehicles are typically parked in different spaces. • Development and analysis of potential short-term and long-term solutions to better manage the existing public parking spaces and provide for additional parking spaces in the future. • Development and analysis of potential alternative improvement to widening Spring Street and 13th Street to four-lanes in the future.
• Meetings with the ad-hoc committee to assess the feasibility and public acceptance/reaction to the potential solutions.
• A public meeting to present the potential solutions considered by the committee. • Completion of this report to describe the alternative action plans.

Initial Input From the Public and Committee Members
At the beginning of the study, the ad-hoc committee members were asked to describe what they thought the parking issues were, and what some potential solutions could be. During the filed surveys, questionnaire surveys were distributed to approximately 100 employees and customers asking the same basic questions. A summary of the results of the ad-hoc committee input and the informal public surveys are provided in Table 1. All of the comments and survey results are provided in the Appendix A to this report.

Table 1 – Committee and Community Input Summary
Committee Member Comments/Ideas Community Survey Results/Ideas Financing new lots/structures is the key issue 40% of respondents were employees Lack of enforcement is a reason for the problem 45% of employees are not told where to park Restrictions have been unsuccessful in the past 50% said they would pay for parking Define employee incentives to park further away Keep free parking for employees Charge for parking (meters, permits, for-pay lots) Use vacant private lots for parking during the day Build a parking structure downtown Build another parking lot Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. - July 2002
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 2 September 2002

2. PARKING ANALYSIS
Study Area
The study area includes the downtown area bound by 6th Street to the south, 17th Street to the north, Olive Street to the west and Riverside Drive to the east. Figure 1 illustrates the study area boundary.

Parking Supply
Parking Inventory
An inventory of the current parking supply was completed to begin the data collection effort. All on-street and off-street parking spaces were recorded. Average parking occupancy and average parking duration was observed and recorded during two weekdays, two Saturdays and two Sundays in November 2001. The hours between 7 AM and 9 PM were surveyed each day.

Figure 2 illustrates the location of off-street public parking spaces available in the City’s parking lots. Figure 3 illustrates the location of on-street public parking spaces in the downtown study area.

Study Area Analysis Zones
The study area was divided into five analysis zones to increase data collection efficiency and to designate the analysis results more specifically. Figure 4 illustrates the study area parking analysis zones.

Table 2 provides a summary of the parking inventory by type of space within each analysis zone.

Detailed inventory numbers by street and lot are provided in the technical Appendix B of this report.

Table 2 – Parking Supply Inventory
Analysis Zone On-Street Spaces Off-Street Spaces* Number of Spaces I 480 0 480
II 584 0 584
III 358 99 457
IV 833 206 1,039
V 386 22 408
Totals 2,641 327 2,968
Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. - July 2002
* It should be noted that the exact number of on-street spaces within the study areas could not be defined because not all of the spaces are designated with striping marks.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 3 September 2002 Figure 1 - Study Area Boundary
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 4 September 2002 Figure 2 - Off-Street Public Parking Supply Locations
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 5 September 2002 Figure 3 - On-Street Public Parking Supply Locations
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 6 September 2002 Figure 4 - Parking Analysis Zones
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 7 September 2002 Expected Walking Distance
The distance that employees and customers are willing to walk between where they park and their destination is located is related to how large the area is, the number and type of different destinations there are, and how far away they have historically had to park. In Paso Robles, that distance is about one-block, or one minute for employees and “regular” customers than in larger downtown areas. As a result, concentrated “parking problems” are perceived to be more widespread. Customers and tourists that visit downtown more infrequently likely have different expectations regarding how far they have to walk from their parking space to their destination (about 3-4 blocks, or 2 ½ minutes). Figure 5 illustrates the estimated walking distance radius from three points of high activity, based upon an informal assessment conducted during the field inventory and demand surveys.

Existing Parking Demand
The existing utilization of the on-street and off-street parking spaces throughout the study area was surveyed and recorded in order to define the existing parking demand. Demand for parking spaces included analysis of the average parking occupancy – how often the spaces were occupied, and the average parking duration – on average, how long the same vehicle was parked within the same parking space. The following paragraphs describe the methodology used to define occupancy and duration for the on-street and off-street parking spaces.

Average Parking Occupancy
Parking occupancy data was collected and recorded in one-hour intervals throughout each day. A two-person survey team recorded the number of available and occupied spaces for each parking area. This data was used to develop spreadsheets that identify the number of spaces available and the number of spaces occupied on each street and within each public lot in of each the analysis zones. Table 3 provides a summary of the on-street average occupancy of parking spaces by Analysis Zone for different typical days.

Table 3 – On-Street Average Parking Occupancy
WEEKDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY Analysis
Zone Morning
7am–11pm
Afternoon
11am–3pm
Evening
3pm-9pm
Morning
7am–11pm
Afternoon
11am–3pm
Evening
3pm-9pm
Morning
7am–11pm
Afternoon
11am–3pm
Evening
3pm-9pm
I 19% 22% 23% 20% 23% 23% 31% 23% 21%
II 30% 36% 24% 25% 24% 21% 31% 28% 22%
III 31% 31% 24% 23% 24% 19% 18% 19% 18%
IV 39% 66% 46% 35% 52% 48% 23% 38% 30%
V 26% 30% 29% 27% 27% 25% 42% 30% 21%
AVG. 29% 37% 29% 26% 30% 27% 29% 28% 22%
Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. - July 2002
Table 3 indicates that the average demand for on-street parking in each of the analysis zones is relatively low. Zone IV has the highest average demand in the study area – the zone around the park, where the theatre and many other businesses are located. On average, demand is about the same each day. The weekday afternoon period represents the highest study area average, at 37%.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 8 September 2002 Figure 5 - Downtown Walking Distance Radius
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 9 September 2002 It should be noted that the average demand in each Analysis Zone, and average demand in the study area in general, is skewed by certain on-street parking locations and specific one-hour time periods with significantly lower demand. There are definitely certain blocks that are up to 100% occupied at certain times on different days. This represents the “peak” demand, and not the average. Peak demand is discussed later in this report. Table 3 is intended to provide a general idea of occupancy. Detailed street-by-street occupancy data for each hour surveyed and each analysis zone and street are provided in the technical Appendix C of this report.

Table 4 provides a summary of the off-street (public lot) average occupancy of parking spaces by Analysis Zone for different typical days.

Table 4 – Off-Street (Public Lot) Average Parking Occupancy

WEEKDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY
Lot Morning
7am–11pm
Afternoon
11am–3pm
Evening
3pm-9pm
Morning
7am–11pm
Afternoon
11am–3pm
Evening
3pm-9pm
Morning
7am–11pm
Afternoon
11am–3pm
Evening
3pm-9pm
Transit
Center 50% 70% 62% 25% 39% 47% 15% 21% 22%
Spring
Street 67% 75% 70% 8% 13% 38% 5% 10% 32%
City
Hall 47% 51% 42% 15% 29% 19% 3% 8% 10%
Railroad
Lot 75% 80% 74% 30% 40% 52% 11% 17% 22%
12th
Street 74% 76% 67% 47% 54% 36% 9% 21% 20%
Park
Street 43% 66% 56% 26% 39% 49% 7% 22% 14%
AVG. 55% 70% 62% 22% 36% 40% 8% 17% 20%
Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. - July 2002
Table 4 indicates that the average demand for off-street parking in the public lots is highest during weekdays, consistently during the afternoon. The lots with the highest average demand on weekdays are the Spring Street lot the Railroad lot and the 12th Street lot. The Railroad Street lot has the highest average Saturday demand. The Transit Center lot has the highest average Sunday demand.

The lowest average demand is on Sunday mornings. The City Hall lot experienced the lowest average demand on weekdays on the days the field surveys were conducted, however, this lot seemed to be more occupied on weekdays since that time.

It should be noted that the “average” percentages are skewed by specific time periods with significantly lower or higher demand than the other reporting periods. This summarized information is intended to provide a general idea of occupancy. Detailed lot-by-lot occupancy data for each hour surveyed and each analysis zone and lot are provided in the technical appendix of this report. The detailed data indicates that off-street parking space demand varies widely by time-of-day, and day-of-week, with some lots at or over 100% occupancy on weekdays around noon.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 10 September 2002 The Urban Land Institute has established guiding principals for providing additional public parking spaces. The principals are summarized below:
• When demand is at 70% on average, agencies should be planning for additional parking spaces.
• When demand is at 80% on average, agencies should be designing for additional parking spaces.
• When demand is at 90% on average, agencies should be constructing additional parking spaces.

Peak Parking Occupancy
Peak parking occupancy throughout the study area is obviously higher than average parking occupancy, and varies significantly on a block-by-block basis for on-street parking. This is especially true in Analysis Zones I, II and III and V. Less variation was observed in Analysis Zone IV, where the demand is highest. The off-street (public lot) peak occupancy varies more by time-of-day than by location.

Typically, local agencies and even private developments (shopping centers as an example) do not plan or provide for “peak” conditions, unless that peak is observed consistently. The peak demand in Zone IV is consistent, and should be addressed by increasing the supply, either by promoting “turnover” or adding public parking spaces, or both.

Table 5 provides a description of the peak times and percentages observed for the on-street and public lot spaces by Analysis Zone. Figure 6 illustrates the peak occupancy of the on-street spaces in Analysis Zone IV.

Table 5 – Peak Parking Occupancy
On-Street Spaces Off-Street (Public Lot) Spaces
Analysis Zone Peak and
Time Street Location Peak and Time Lot Location
I
50% on
Sundays
7am-11am
Vine, Oak, 8th and
9th Streets N/A N/A
II
65% on
weekdays
11am-1pm
Vine, Oak, 14th, 15th
and 16th Streets N/A N/A
III
90% on
weekdays
11am-1pm
Park and Pine
Streets
85% on
weekdays
11am-1pm
Transit Center Lot
IV
100% on
weekdays
11am-1pm
Spring, Park, Pine,
Railroad, 11th, 12th
and 13th Streets
100% on
weekdays
11am-1pm
Spring Street, 12th Street and
Railroad Lot
V 90% Park, Pine and
Railroad Streets
100% on
weekdays
11am-1pm
Park Street Lot
Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. - July 2002
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 11 September 2002 Figure 6 - Analysis Zone IV Peak Occupancy
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 12 September 2002 Parking Duration
Parking duration defines how long, on average, a specific vehicle is parked in one parking space without being moved. Duration data helps determine how many vehicles park in any one particular parking space throughout the course of a day, and helps to determine the “effective supply”. This “turn over” rate is dependent upon the length of time a car is parked without being moved. This data is used to develop an average rate for a general area.

The effective supply is equal to the actual parking capacity less a cushion needed for user convenience. The effective supply is typically equal to 85-90% of the actual supply. Parking turnover is an important component in determining the parking demand as it compares with the effective supply. It helps define the actual capacity of the parking space inventory. For example, an employee-serving parking space that accommodates a vehicle arriving at 7 AM and not leaving until 5 PM provides for one parked vehicle. A commercial customer space may provide parking for 8 to 10 vehicles during the same time period. Lower parking turnover (longer average parking duration) compromises the parking supply. As an example, a supply of 500 spaces can accommodate 2,000 vehicles if the turnover rate is 4 cars per space, per day. If the turnover rate is only 2 cars per day, the same 500 spaces only accommodate 1,000 vehicles.

Average parking duration/turnover was observed and recorded at 12 different specific locations throughout the study area. Each designated parking space was observed hourly and recorded by identifying the license plate number of the vehicle parked.

The parking turnover rate was determined by calculating the average duration that vehicles were parked in the spaces surveyed hourly from 8 AM to 10 PM. Table 6 provides a summary of the average parking duration by analysis zone on a weekday, Saturday and Sunday.

Table 6 – Average Parking Duration

WEEKDAY
(Hours/Minutes)

SATURDAY
(Hours/Minutes)
SUNDAY
(Hours/Minutes) Analysis
Zone
On-Street Off-Street On-Street Off-Street On-Street Off-Street I 6:30 N/A 2:30 N/A 2:00 N/A
II 4:00 N/A 2:45 N/A 2:15 N/A
III 3:30 4:30 2:30 4:00 3:00 3:15
IV 4:00 5:30 2:00 3:15 1:45 2:15
V 6:00 6:30 2:00 3:45 2:00 3:00
AVG. 4:45 5:30 2:15 3:45 2:15 2:45
Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. July 2002
Table 6 indicates that the average duration of parked vehicles in the study area is significantly longer on weekdays compared to Saturdays and Sundays. The turn over rate varies by Analysis Zone, and is generally longer for the off-street (public lot) spaces. The longer duration is a typical characteristic of spaces used by employees.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 13 September 2002 Future Parking Demand
Developing future parking demand estimates is not an exact science, and relies upon many different assumptions. These assumptions include, but are not limited to:
• Known development plans
• The type and size of planned developments
• General Plan land use designations
• Population forecasts
• The development climate and the economy
• The make-up of existing land uses
• Trip generation expected from planned developments
• Expected walk distance/time between the parking space and the destination Downtown Paso Robles has experienced significant change in the last ten years. New land uses (restaurants, theatres and boutique shops) have replaced many of the previous land uses. The new uses have revitalized downtown, and the result is increased trip generation more demand for parking spaces.

The City’s General Plan includes land use projections and zoning that would allow for continued change, revitalization and growth. The projections allow for continued redevelopment activity, occupancy of 2nd and 3rd stories of existing buildings, increased commercial densification and development of vacant property. The timing of these change is dependant upon the economy and City efforts to continue revitalizing more of the downtown area.

The number of parking spaces that will be required in the future depends upon many variables, including the type, size and location of the development. City parking code requirements typically tie the trip generation rate of new developments to the number of parking spaces that would be required. The requirements also consider how long a vehicle would be parked, which is related to the combination of downtown land uses.

City staff provided land use projection data and the location and type of planned redevelopment projects. This information was used to develop future parking demand estimates. The land use projections are based upon the additional square footage of development that is allowed by the current zoning designations for each study area block. Figure 7 illustrates the location of additional allowable densities. Detailed land use projections are provided in Appendix D of this report. The location and type of specific, known redevelopment projects were also identified.

Figure 8 illustrates the location of probable development projects.

Based upon the future land use information, and assuming there is no change in the expected walk distance, approximately 350 additional parking spaces would be needed in the downtown area to accommodate future parking demand. Table 7 presents a summary of the existing and future parking demand estimates, and identifies the number of surplus or deficit spaces. For the purposes of this analysis, and based upon input form City staff, the future development plans are targeted for 2007. Therefore, the future parking demand estimates are provided for 2007. Table 7 indicates that there are a surplus number of parking spaces in the study area now, but a deficit of about 161 spaces in Zone IV. In the future, there would be a parking space of approximately 350 spaces, concentrated in Zones III, IV and V.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 14 September 2002 Table 7 – Existing and Future Parking Demand Estimates
Analysis
Zone
Total
Number of
Existing
Spaces*
Number of
Spaces Needed
Now
Existing
Surplus or
(Deficit)
Number of
Spaces
Needed
Future (2007)
Future Surplus
or (Deficit)
Based Upon
Existing Supply
I 480 300 180 480 0
II 584 400 184 450 134
III 457 400 57 590 (133)
IV 1,039 1,200 (161) 1,300 (261)
V 408 400 8 500 (92)
Totals 2,968 2,700 268 3,290 (352)
Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. July 2002
* Total number of spaces includes on-street and off-street public parking spaces.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 15 September 2002 Figure 7 - Downtown Land Use Projections
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 16 September 2002 Figure 8 - Location of Probable Development Projects
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 17 September 2002

3. SUMMARY OF PARKING ISSUES
Completing the field surveys, evaluating the occupancy and duration results and working with the ad-hoc committee identified the parking issues and potential solutions. The paragraphs below describe the existing and future parking issues, and the potential solutions considered in more detail.

Existing Parking Issues
• There are enough parking spaces in the study area to meet existing demand. The supply of parking spaces in the study area in general is sufficient to meet the average demand, but many of the spaces are not located in the areas where people want to park. Based upon the current expected walk distance, there is a need for more parking spaces in Zone IV, especially during peak times. The spaces could be provided by increasing parking turnover (decreasing the average length of time a vehicle is parking without moving), increasing the actual number of public parking spaces, or a combination of increased turnover and additional supply. • There are approximately 100 more spaces needed in the downtown core. Demand for parking spaces exceeds the effective supply in Analysis Zone IV and in the areas immediately adjacent to the south and north of zone IV. There are not enough parking spaces to meet the consistent peak customer and employee parking demand during many time periods in these areas. The highest peak demand is during the middle of the day on weekdays, when businesses are operating and many of the restaurants get customers from outside of the downtown area. Weekday evenings are the next busiest times, for much of the same reason – businesses are still open, restaurants are serving dinner, and the theatres start to get more movie-goers.
• Spring Street and 13th Street act as barriers to the parking supply. Although there are significant number of surplus parking spaces in Zones I and II, Spring Street acts as a barrier to pedestrian traffic. Not as many people are willing to park in the available on-street spaces in these zones. There are also some surplus spaces in Zone III, which are more accessible, but the sidewalks on Park and Pine Streets south of 11th Street may be prohibiting people from parking there. There are only a few surplus parking spaces in Zone V. However, 13th Street also acts as a barrier to pedestrian traffic, especially during times where there is heavy vehicular traffic.
• Employee parking occupies many of the prime “customer” spaces. Long-term employee parking in the on-street spaces adjacent to the downtown core should be minimized. Many business owners expressed that they require their employees to park in the public lots in the on-street spaces away from the core – but not all business owners. This creates ill-will and parking demand problems.
• There are no time restrictions for parking spaces. The lack of parking restrictions to limit how long a vehicle can be parked in the same space results in low parking turnover. The employees in the area know this, and use the time restricted spaces for long-term or all day parking, resulting in fewer parking spaces available for customers.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 18 September 2002 Future Parking Issues
• Existing parking issues will worsen if not addressed. Although the existing parking issues a refocused to the core, Zone IV area in 2002, the issues will have a more negative impact in the future if they are not addressed. Specifically, the downtown business community (the City and the business owners, and Main Street) need to start resolving issues now, and start working now on future supply solutions. This will require organized cooperation of adjacent business owners for self-enforcement, identification of financing for short-term (low-cost) and longer term (construction-related) solutions.
• Increased population will increase parking demand. The population of Paso Robles is expected to be approximately 35,000 by 2015-2020. As the City grows, activity in the downtown will also grow.
• There are plans for additional redevelopment. Planned downtown development within the next 5 years will result in more parking demand, primarily in Zones III and IV. • New development would require new spaces. The anticipated level of development in the downtown area will require about 350 more spaces by 2007 and 550 more spaces by 2012. • There are optional ways to accommodate future demand. The optional solutions to accommodating the demand that will result form new additional development are described in detail in the following sections of this report. In general, the solutions range from expanding the average walk distance, financing additional lots, a parking structure, and/or implementing enforced time restrictions.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 19 September 2002 Example Cities with Similar Issues
Other communities experience parking issues that are similar to the issues in downtown Paso Robles. The ad-hoc committee requested that some “best practice” research was conducted to help identify potential solutions that other communities have tried. Table 8 represents a summary of how other similar communities have resolved (or how they now planning to resolve) their parking issues.

Table 8 – Comparable City Experiences
City Parking Issue to Solve What They Did
Ventura,
California
There was little activity downtown.

Downtown plan for revitalization
completed that identified a parking
structure as catalyst for growth, part
of redevelopment policy.

The City constructed a 500 space parking
structure before a new downtown theatre,
at a cost of $6.5M. City paid with capital
funds initially identified for a proposed
convention center.

Thousand
Oaks,
California
T.O. Blvd., represents the
“downtown” area. Too many
employees were parking in customer
spaces. More spaces were needed
throughout entire study area.

Business owners initiated shared parking
agreements with each other. A site for a
new surface lot was identified, and
business owners are in the process of
buying it.

Prescott,
Arizona
The City population is about 23,000,
and the downtown businesses are
built around a park. Development of
building 2nd floors increased
employee, customer and visitor
parking demand. City had time
restricted spaces.

The City already had time restricted
spaces. They are building a new 425
space, mixed-use parking structure that
will be completed by 2003. There are 52
residential units and 6,000 s.f.of retail.

The 10.2M cost was shared: $4.2M in
public funds, and $6M in private funds.

Studio
City,
California
Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, a
community that is part of Los
Angeles, represents a linear
“downtown” area. There has been a
significant amount of redevelopment
in the past 5 years - old business
turnover to newer businesses. There
are more people and more demand
for parking spaces.

The City is going to use parking meter
funds and general obligation bonds to
pay for the conversion of an existing
public lot and an adjacent private lot into
a structure site. Spaces on the lower
level will be reserved for private use, to
replace the private lot spaces. The City
is also going to provide new signage to
indicate where the structure is located.

Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. - July 2002
The Urban Transportation Monitor conducted a nationwide survey in March 2001 on downtown parking issues. Questionnaires were faxed to 150 cities in the U.S. Altogether 31 completed questionnaires were received (21% response rate). A summary of the responses that are related to the parking issues in downtown Paso Robles are provided below:
• Current total of off-street private and public spaces available in the CBD for smaller cities 2,800. There are 2,968 on-street and off-street public spaces in Paso Robles. • Approximately 71% of the parking in smaller cities and 33% of the parking in larger cities is free.
• On average, about 700 off-street parking spaces are owned by smaller cities (public). There are 327 off-street public spaces in the lots in downtown Paso Robles.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 20 September 2002 • The total number of on-street parking spaces in the CBD of smaller cities is 900. There are 2,641 in Paso Robles.
• About 2% of the smaller cities have no minimum or maximum parking requirement per floor area.
• The shortest maximum time period allowed for on-street parking in the CBD of smaller cities is 42 minutes.
• The longest maximum time period allowed for on-street parking in the CBD of smaller cities is approximately 4 hours.

Parking Code Requirements
This section of the report describes the current downtown parking requirements for businesses, based upon the parking code. It should be noted that the existing conditions and recommendations apply to the entire City parking code requirements, and not just to the downtown area.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 21 September 2002 Existing Code Conditions
• The reduced parking requirements for new downtown buildings expire on January 1, 2004. • The City allows for 25% of the spaces to be allocated to small cars, or “compact spaces”. This allowance is too generous for the 2002 Paso Robles vehicle mix, which has a heavy truck and large vehicle percentage.
• The parking lot geometric design standards are too generous • There is no detailed "shared parking" section in the zoning code.

Code Recommendations
• Extend the reduced parking requirements for new downtown buildings for 5 more years. This action has been successful in stimulating downtown development and redevelopment.

Although not requiring on-site parking has led to some of the parking shortage that exists in Zone IV, requiring parking would likely result in a decline of new business activity. • Revise the small car % allowance in OP, OP overlay, C, M RC and PM zones • Revise the parking lot design standards to reflect current practices for geometric design. • Create a "Shared Parking" section in the zoning ordinance for mixed use developments in accordance with Urban Land Institute (ULI) guidelines
• Fire Lane: A minimum of 24 ft. must be kept clear. Required turning radius is dependent upon the angle of the turn.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 22 September 2002 Accessible Parking
When a business, State or local government agency, or other covered entity re-stripes a parking lot, it must provide accessible parking spaces as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design. Failure to do so would violate the ADA. In addition, businesses or privately owned facilities that provide goods or services to the public have a continuing ADA obligation to remove barriers to access in existing parking lots when it is readily achievable to do so. Because re-striping is relatively inexpensive, it is readily achievable in most cases.

The ADA provide a design guide with information about how to create accessible car and van spaces and how many spaces to provide when parking lots are re-striped. The following paragraphs summarize the design guide. Appendix E provides the full design guide.

Accessible Parking Spaces for Cars
Accessible parking spaces for cars should have at least a 60-inch-wide access aisle located adjacent to the designated parking space. This width should be wide enough to permit a person using a wheelchair to enter or exit the car. The parking spaces should also be identified with a sign and located on level ground. The boundary of the access aisle must be marked. The end may be a squared or curved shape. Two parking spaces may share an access aisle.

An access aisle of at least 60-inch width must be level (1:50 maximum slope in all directions), be the same length as the adjacent parking space(s) it serves and must connect to an accessible route to the building. Ramps must not extend into the access aisle.

Van-Accessible Parking Spaces
At least one of eight accessible parking spaces must be van-accessible. Van-accessible parking spaces should have three features that are different from accessible spaces for cars:
• A wider access aisle (96" minimum width) to accommodate a wheelchair lift. • Vertical clearance (98” minimum high clearance) to accommodate van height at the van parking space, the adjacent access aisle, and on the vehicular route to and from the vanaccessible space. If the accessible route is located in front of the space, wheelstops need to be installed to keep vehicles from reducing the width to less than 36 inches. • An additional sign that identifies the parking spaces as "van accessible”, mounted high enough so the sign can be seen when a vehicle is parked in the space.

The number of accessible parking spaces is based on the total number of parking spaces provided (based on the 1998 California Building Code). The table on the following page identifies the number of spaces required for off-street parking lots/facilities.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 23 September 2002 Table 9 - Minimum Number of Accessible Parking Spaces
Total Number of
Parking Spaces
Number of Accessible Parking Spaces Required
1 to 25 1
26 to 50 2
51 to 75 3
76-100 4
101-150 5
151-200 6
201-300 7
301-400 8
401-500 9
501-1000 2% of total
1001 and over 20 + 1/100 spaces or fraction thereof
Location
Accessible parking spaces must be located on the shortest accessible route of travel to an accessible facility entrance. Where buildings have multiple accessible entrances with adjacent parking, the accessible parking spaces must be dispersed and located closest to the accessible entrances.

When accessible parking spaces are added in an existing parking lot, locate the spaces on the most level ground close to the accessible entrance. An accessible route must always be provided from the accessible parking to the accessible entrance. An accessible route never has curbs or stairs, must be at least 3- feet wide, and has a firm, stable, slip-resistant surface. The slope along the accessible route should not be greater than 1:12 in the direction of travel.

Accessible parking spaces may be clustered in one or more lots if equivalent or greater accessibility is provided in terms of distance from the accessible entrance, parking fees, and convenience. Van-accessible parking spaces located in parking garages may be clustered on one floor (to accommodate the 98-inch minimum vertical height requirement).

Free Technical Assistance
Private business owners and State and local government agencies can obtain answers to technical and general questions about ADA Standards for accessible parking lot design and other issues by calling the ADA Information Line. Information about ADA-related IRS tax credits and deductions is also available from the ADA Information Line. • ADA Information Line: 800-514-0301 (voice), 800-514-0383 (tty) Internet
There is an ADA web site with access to ADA regulations, technical assistance materials, and general ADA information. It also provides links to other Federal agencies, and updates on new ADA requirements and enforcement efforts. The internet address is:
• www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 24 September 2002 Loading Zones
Off-Street Loading Areas
Commercial buildings typically provide at least one off-street loading space. Every commercial use or building with 15 or more parking spaces shall provide a minimum of one loading space within 10 feet of the use or building served. Loading docks should not be located between a building and a street frontage in commercial and industrial zones.

On-Street Loading Areas
There is a need for on-street loading areas in downtown Paso Robles, because not every business has off-street loading zone access. Areas that could be designated as on-street loading only should be minimized, and located dependant upon the type of business and access on different blocks within the downtown. There should be no more than one area for each block face. On-street loading zones should not be used as ‘regular” parking spaces, unless the loading use is restricted to specific times and/or days.

Any on-street loading zone areas in downtown Paso Robles should be restricted to specific time/days because of the need for additional on-street public parking spaces. These areas would be considered as on-street loading bays where the turnover of vehicles is mandatory. Motorists should not stop a vehicle in a loading zone during these specific times/days, except for the purpose of loading or unloading passengers or materials.

Passenger loading zones should be designated for the purpose of loading and unloading passengers up to and not exceeding 3 minutes. In the case of a passenger this period is not to exceed 3 minutes, for materials the maximum is 30 minutes. These zones are often located in front of hotels, theatres, restaurants, night clubs, community halls and other venues where large groups of people are being dropped off or picked up. The turnover of vehicles is essential in maintaining traffic flow and providing a convenient spot for passenger pick up. A passenger zone sign without any times or days, should be in effect seven days a week, 24 hours a day, including holidays.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 25 September 2002

4. PARKING SOLUTIONS THAT WERE CONSIDERED
Several ideas and potential solutions were considered and discussed with the ad-hoc committee throughout the study process. The paragraphs below describe the ideas that were considered, and are divided into two categories of solutions: Policy and Physical.

Policy Solutions
• Continue current downtown zoning code. This policy has been successful in revitalizing the downtown. It has also led to the current parking shortages at peak times in Zone IV. • Require all new development to provide off-street parking. This solution solves some of the cost issues and places responsibility directly to the new businesses that would operate and generate the new/additional parking demand. However, this action could result in a significant decrease in new development activity.
• Require in-lieu fees for parking. The City could require fees from new business owners instead of requiring them to provide for their own on-site parking spaces. These fees could be used to finance the construction of new public spaces. The amount of the fee could significantly decrease development activity.
• Self enforce time-restricted parking. Self-enforcement would require business owners to control the parking habits of their employees (where and when they park). Self-enforcement has not been very effective in the past, because not all business owners encourage and monitor their employee parking habits. In addition, other than requests or demand, there has not been any real “incentive” for most employees to park away from their job location. Employee incentives that were considered as part of this study, intended to motivate employees to park outside of the downtown core included:
− free car washes/details, and gift certificates and/or discounts to downtown businesses − “reserved” spaces in public lots
− recognition in downtown publications
− construction of shade structure over some of the public lot spaces − any incentives that are provided need to be funded by someone (Main Street, the City, etc.), which would raise budget issues.
• Formally enforce time-restricted parking. Formal enforcement would include staff hired to enforce and write tickets for violations that are either meter-based or signed-only time restrictions. Enforcement could lead to more opportunities for customers to park, with shorter duration. However, enforcement could also result in more employees trying to find somewhere to park for longer time periods, and impact the adjacent retail parking lots. Strict and consistent enforcement should only be enacted if some of the other potential solutions to increase the supply are developed. Enforcement costs would be a budget issue.

The effect that time-restricting parking could have on the Zone IV parking demand is illustrated in Figure 9. The figure indicates that enforced time restrictions could have the same effect as increasing the number of public parking spaces, because turnover would be improved, and long-term parkers would likely park outside of the downtown core. Figure 10 illustrates the effect that enforcement would have on the study area. Figure 11 indicates the potential time restriction for specific on-street locations.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 26 September 2002 Figure 9 - Effect of Time Restrictions on Zone IV Demand Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 27 September 2002 Figure 10 - Effect of Time Restrictions on the Study Area Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 28 September 2002 Figure 11 - Potential On-Street Time Restrictions
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 29 September 2002 • Develop shared-parking agreements. Shared parking is defined as parking space that can be used to serve two or more individual land uses without conflict or encroachment.

Agreements between the property owners, or the City and some of the owners of private lots could help expand or increase the effective parking supply. Shared parking works when demand is different at different times of the day. The details of the agreements would need to be defined, and could include a financial component. Example shared parking agreements are included in Appendix F of this report.
• Develop a Business Improvement District (BID). A BID is a property-based benefit assessment type district established under Section 36600 of the California Streets and Highway Code, also known as the Property and Business Improvement District law of 1994.

BIDs allow a group of business or property owners to tax themselves to pay for improvements. BID contributions are either based upon property values or merchant sales tax.

They must be approved by a majority vote of businesses or property owners in the designated area, and by the City Council. A sample BID agreement is included in Appendix G of this report.
• Extend the expected walk distance. Extending the expected walk distance and time would be related to future development and redevelopment activity outside of what is now the ‘core” downtown area. This would result in the under-utilized public parking spaces outside of the core becoming more reasonable to shoppers, employees and other downtown visitors. The attraction of other uses between the available spaces and other destinations would extend this expected distance and time. If this were to happen, there would be less need to pursue increased supply or enforcement.

Physical Solutions
• Re-stripe parking spaces on streets from parallel to angled parking. Some of the streets in the downtown area are currently striped for angled parking, at about a 60 degree angle (i.e., 12th Street, Park Street, Pine Street). Modification of other street parking striping from parallel to angled could result in an increase of approximately 30% more spaces. However, not all of the streets may be able to accommodate angled parking without modification to the roadway or sidewalk widths, or the lane widths. This improvement and would likely need to be coordinated between the City and the adjacent property owners. Where feasible, this is a very cost-effective solution to providing some new spaces. • Construct another surface parking lot. There are some vacant sites in the downtown area that could be used for public (surface) parking lots. One example is the lot across from the theatre that is currently unimproved, where many people already park. There are other potential sites that are relatively small (similar to the 12th Street and Park Street lots), but could still be used to accommodate additional public parking spaces. The City does not currently own any of the sites identified during this study. This is a significant budget issue.

A good site investment would be one that is large enough to accommodate a multi-level parking structure at some point in the future, when finances for a structure are identified and when demand warrants the additional spaces. Figure 12 illustrates the dimensions of some of the current public lot sites and the minimum requirements for a site that could accommodate a parking structure.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 30 September 2002 Figure 12 - Site Dimensions of Existing Public Parking Lots Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 31 September 2002 • Install parking meters. Installation of parking meters is usually a very controversial issue.

Such is the case in Paso Robles, since parking meters were removed decades ago. However, this should still be considered as a viable solution to the lengthy duration of average parked vehicles and also serves as a potential revenue generator for new public parking spaces. The price for metered parking represents “user fees” and is not a direct cost to the business owners or to the City.
• Improve signage. Better signage would help infrequent visitors identify the existing public off-street parking spaces.
• Construct a parking garage somewhere within the study area. A parking garage could be constructed somewhere within the study area to accommodate the existing and anticipated growth in parking demand. This would require that identification of the most feasible site, funding identified for the purchase of the site and design/construction of the garage.

Parking Improvement Costs
Table 10 presents general parking improvement cost information. This information was used to help assess the potential solutions developed throughout this study.

Table 10 – General Parking Improvement Costs
Improvement Item Cost Note
Parking meters $400/ea $320,000 for 800 for downtown spaces Two enforcement personnel $80,000 - $100,000/year Could be part of Police or contracted New surface lots $2,500 - $4,000 / space Land cost not included Parking Structures cost $10,000-15,000 / space Cost/space varies* land not included 12”x18” Street Parking sign $100/ea Cost includes pole and installation 36”x48”Wayfinding sign $1,000/ea Cost depends upon customization Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. - July 2002
* Appendix X provides more detail about how much parking structures cost.

Financing Options
Several financing options were discussed and considered throughout this study effort. The following list summarizes the options for financing the parking and circulation improvements presented in this report.
• Fees from a downtown parking assessment district
• City financed with guaranteed revenue bonds
• Revenues generated by:
− Income from on-street meters
− Income from time restrictions
− Income from off-street parking fees
• City financed with general obligation bonds
• City-wide impact development fees for investment in downtown parking − By land use type
− By square footage
Additional financial information and data is provided in the Appendix H of this report.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 32 September 2002 New Parking Lot and Structure
The physical solutions for a new surface lot and parking structure require additional “due diligence” and consideration before the City and business owners can determine if the solution is viable. Once the demand for the additional spaces is defined and policy solutions (including time restrictions and enforcement) are exhausted, new facilities should be constructed. However, the process can take a long time, and should consider the following factors when identifying the most appropriate location/site for a public parking facility. These factors include, but are not limited to the following:
• Walking distance to destination(s)
• Environment
• Parking rate
• Land cost/improvement cost
• Street access and traffic patterns
• Historic preservation
• Coordination with Downtown plans
• Public acceptance
Table 11 presents a site evaluation matrix that was designed to compare and contrast different opportunity sites that could be considered for a new parking facility. The evaluation criteria were developed in coordination with the ad-hoc committee.

Table 11 – Site Evaluation Matrix
Site
Does the
City own
the site?
Is site vacant
land?
Is site large
enough to
accommodate
a structure?
Is site central
to future
development
plans?
Does the
site serve
Zone IV
demand?
SE Corner
14th/Railroad No No Yes* Yes Yes
City Hall Lot Yes No** Yes Yes Yes
Pine between
10th & 11th No Yes No Yes Yes
SW Corner
13th/Park No No No Yes Yes
Field at 6th &
7th No No Yes Yes No
Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. - July 2002
* = The site would be large enough if combined with the adjacent public lot. ** = The site is developed as a public parking lot.

The criteria represent the most important issues for the City and the downtown business community. The table indicates that the site on the west-side of Pine, across from the theatres and the southeast corner of 14th/Railroad and have three “yes” responses – which means that they are good candidate sites for new parking lots. Neither of these sites is large enough to accommodate a parking structure, but the SE corner of 14th/Railroad (the Hunter Auto Body site) would be large enough if combined with the existing public Railroad Street lot now owned by the City. There are 42 spaces in the current railroad lot. About 50 more spaces could be constructed on the adjacent Hunter lot, and approximately 100 spaces could be accommodated if the two sites were combined and used as one surface lot. The combined site would then be able to accommodate a structure.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 33 September 2002 The matrix also indicates that the City Hall lot has four “yes” responses. This existing lot would be an ideal site for a future parking structure. An assessment of the study area was conducted to determine the best locations/sites for new public parking facilities, based upon development plans and the evaluation criteria. Figure 13 illustrates opportunity sites for new public parking facilities. Figure 14 illustrates the typical dimensions of a site that would accommodate a multilevel parking structure, and includes general costs.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 34 September 2002 Figure 13 - Opportunity Sites for New Public Parking Facilities Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 35 September 2002 Figure 14 - Typical Site Dimensions for a New Parking Facility Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 36 September 2002

5. CIRCULATION ANALYSIS
Background
The City’s General Plan Circulation Element (October 2000) identified improvements to Spring Street and 13th Street in the downtown area. Based upon the future land use projections and growth in traffic, widening Spring Street and 13th Street to 4-lanes (two in each direction) was recommended. The City and the ad-hoc committee felt that these recommendations warranted further consideration, in part, because the improvements would likely require the removal of onstreet parking. Figure 15 illustrates the current study area traffic flow pattern and the objectives established to divert traffic out of the downtown core, and eliminate the need to widen the roadways to four-lanes. Figure 16 illustrates the effect of through traffic diversion in the study area.

Figure 17 presents the current and future traffic volume and level-of-service (LOS) forecasts on Spring and 13th Streets. Figure 18 illustrates the existing Downtown roadway operating conditions.

Circulation Improvements Considered
Two alternative strategies (options) were developed to achieve the traffic diversion objectives.

Key to each of the options considered was no parking removal. Option one is based upon “traffic calming” techniques, commonly used by public agencies to divert traffic to other roadways.

Figure 19 illustrates the traffic calming option and indicates the specific location of proposed improvements.

Option Two requires the closure of 13th Street, and is illustrated in Figure 20. Figure 21 illustrates the 13th Street Closure option in greater detail. The ad-hoc committee suggested that 13th Street be temporarily closed to assess the effect of the closure on achieving the diversion objectives.
13th Street is one of the three river crossings in the City, along with Niblick Road and 46th Street. 13th Street is the closest crossing to the City’s main core and therefore serves as a main thoroughfare and the one of the primary roadways into and out of the downtown area.

From a public safety standpoint (police, fire and paramedics), the proposed closure is not the preferred approach to diverting traffic because it could impede or at least slow response time. The proposed closure may be able to be designed to allow access for public safety vehicles only.

Circulation Recommendations
The information below summarizes the recommended circulation improvements for each of the downtown roadways.

Spring Street Improvements 13th Street Improvements
- Keep 2-lanes through Downtown - One of the primary entrances into Downtown - Divert traffic to Pine and, eventually, Riverside - Diversion of traffic from Spring affects 13th - Circulation Element recommended diversions - Traffic Calming on 13th Street east of Spring - Traffic signal timing could also divert traffic - Potential closure of 13th Street at Railroad Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 37 September 2002 The recommended circulation improvements have been organized into short, medium and long range action items for the City to consider. The detailed action items are described below.

Short
• Install directional signs at 10th and 16th Streets, designed to divert traffic to Riverside and Creston Roads.
• Close off 13th Street in the block between Railroad and Park Streets for a two-week trial period. This closure should include the installation of traffic counting devices on roadways throughout the downtown area, and on other roadways outside of downtown area. • After the two-week roadway closure period, measure the effect on downtown traffic flows by comparing the changes in average daily traffic (ADT) volumes. A simple study should be completed that includes a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the temporary closure.

This could include a roadway volume/capacity analysis, intersection level-of-service analysis and a resident and business owner survey that indicates the to attitude of the community regarding the closure. The study should also indicate benefits (less congestion, decreased delay) and problems encountered (longer driving times, roadway not able to accommodate the additional traffic volumes) etc.

Medium
• When development occurs at the NE and SE corners of 4th and Spring Streets, propose a budget for modifying lane configurations to channel a lane of traffic east on 4th Street and north on Pine Street.
• If the temporary closure of 13th Street proves unsuccessful, begin design efforts to continue the traffic calming improvements that exist in some sections of the downtown area, to other areas. • Pursue funding for Project Study Report level of documentation for the assessment of a new roadway connection between Spring Street and Pine Street, south of 4th Street to help divert traffic off of Spring Street in the downtown area.

Long
• Depending upon the outcome of the trial closure of 13th Street (measured in terms of reasonable success in redirecting traffic from 13th over to 10th and 16th Streets), consider the budget for a permanent closure or barrier.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 38 September 2002 Figure 15 - Current Traffic Flow and Diversion Objectives Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 39 September 2002 Figure 16 - Effect of Through Traffic Diversion
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 40 September 2002 Figure 17 - Traffic Volume and LOS Forecasts
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 41 September 2002 Figure 18 - Existing Downtown Roadway Operating Conditions Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 42 September 2002 Figure 19 - Traffic Calming Option
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 43 September 2002 Figure 20 - 13th Street Closure Option
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 44 September 2002 Figure 21 - 13th Street Closure Option Inset
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 45 September 2002

6. ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENTATION
Methodology
The environmental initial study completed for this project analyzes significant impacts that would result with and/or without implementation of any of the study recommendations. A full copy of Initial Study is provided as Appendix I to this report.

The Initial Study provides an assessment of the potential environmental effects of all aspects of the proposed project. Where applicable, the Initial Study notes any relevant mitigation measures, and in the case of certain major improvements (such as a parking structure), additional analysis may be needed when a design is submitted. It should be noted that any discretionary actions that are considered as a result of this plan would be subject to CEQA review.

The Initial Study analyzed the potential impacts associated with the Downtown Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan as described under Item 7 above. It also identified the potential impacts that may derive from the implementation of a Parking and Circulation improvements within or around the Downtown core of Paso Robles. It also helps establish where mitigation measures can be appropriately incorporated into the project. However, it should be noted that discretionary actions related to land acquisition and construction of major public facilities pursuant to this plan would need to undergo separate environmental review.

Conclusions
The environmental factors checked below would be potentially affected by this project, involving at least one impact that is a “Potentially Significant Impact” or is “Potentially Significant Unless Mitigated,” as indicated by the checklist on the following pages. # Land Use & Planning $ Transportation/Circulation # Public Services # Population & Housing # Biological Resources # Utilities & Service Systems # Geological Problems # Energy & Mineral Resources $ Aesthetics $ Water $ Hazards $ Cultural Resources
$ Air Quality $ Noise # Recreation
# Mandatory Findings of Significance

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 46 September 2002

7. PUBLIC TRANSIT EVALUATION
Existing Terms & Service
The City currently has a fixed-route system with two 20-passenger buses and hourly service for $1. The City also has a dial-a-ride service for $2. The City wanted to determine if transit could help solve parking management issues.

Future Shuttle Consideration
Operating shuttles during peak times could help expand the distance between where people park and their destination, and result in motivating people to park more “remote” parking lots. This improvement would be more reasonable in the future, when the downtown area redevelopment expands to the south, and when additional public parking lots are developed. Operation of the circulator shuttles would also require financing, because it was assumed that the shuttles would be free.

Two alternative circulator shuttle routes were identified, based upon the future land use and redevelopment plans. Table 12 summarizes and compares the two routes. Figure 22 illustrates the Route 1 concept. Figure 23 illustrates the Route 2 concept.

Table 12 – Optional Downtown Circulator Shuttle Route Comparisons Route Characteristic Route 1:
7th Street to 11th Street
Route 2:
7th Street to 13th Street
Round-Trip Distance 0.8 miles 1.2 miles
Route Trip Estimated Time 5 minutes 7 minutes
Service Days Monday through Friday Monday through Friday Service Days per Year 250 250
Service Times 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. 7:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M.

Number of Vehicles 1 (20 to 22 seats) 1 (20 to 22 seats) Total Daily Vehicle Service Hours 12 12
Service Rate $25 per hour $25 per hour
Total Daily Cost $300 $300
Total Annual Cost $75,000 $75,000
Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. - July 2002
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 47 September 2002 Figure 22 - Downtown Circulator Route 1
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 48 September 2002 Figure 23 - Downtown Circulator Route 2
Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 49 September 2002

8. OPTIONAL PARKING SOLUTIONS
Short, medium and long range solutions have been identified and organized into three optional strategies for the City to consider. The following pages describe the detailed action items for each of the three strategies. Information is also provided that describes how the specific actions from the three strategies could be combined into a hybrid strategy, if necessary.

Option A: Increase Parking Turnover by Enforcing Time Restrictions The primary element of this option is based upon beginning with a 3-month period of business self-enforcement of employees parking in spaces outside of the core for longer-term parking needs. This would require that the downtown business owners restrict the parking habits of their employees, making it clear that the alternative to self-enforcement is strictly enforced time limits for parking with fines.

Short Term
• Responsibility for controlling employee parking in the downtown area would fall to the business owners. No time restrictions would be applied to on-street or public parking lots.

This would begin with a 3-month effort of self-enforcement, starting as soon as possible, to help reduce the average length of parking duration. Business owners could work closely with City staff and Main Street to initiate the enforcement and “get-the-word-out” about the intentions and possible results of the success or failure of the self-enforcement effort. • Peak period time limitations (between the hours of 10 AM and 2 PM) could be provided in the form of temporary signage with different time limits in different locations. For example:
! No time limits in public parking lots at 12th & Railroad, Spring between 12th and 13th, and south of City Hall, and along 11th Street and outside of the core area defined below. ! A time limit of 4 hours on Spring Street and Pine Street south of 12th Street. ! A time limit of 2 hours on Park & Pine Streets from 12th to 14th Street and in the parking lot east of Marv’s Pizza.
! A time limit of 4 hours on 12th, 13th, and 14th Streets.

Medium Term
• At the end of the 3-month effort, assess the level of success by general observation, measuring the average parking occupancy of spaces available for customers and a Main Street survey.

Long Term
• If the voluntary enforcement by business owners does not work, business owners should be surveyed to determine if they are willing to pay for the $80,000 - $100,000 annual cost of providing enforcement personnel to implement timed parking restrictions and signage reflecting the applicable time limits.
• If the survey indicates that the business owners are not willing to provide annual the funding for time-limited parking, the question of funding should be brought to the City Council for its consideration.
• If the Council approves the funding request, proceed accordingly. If the Council denies the funding request, revert to Option B or C.

Benefits of Option A:
• The City’s fiscal constraints are considered. Expenditures on parking related improvements or enforcement will need to compete with other City priorities, including but not limited to Emergency Services staffing.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 50 September 2002 • This option provides business owners with an opportunity to control the employee “parking problem”. If the business owners successfully control the problem, it would not be necessary to take further steps to implement time-restricted parking at this time. • This option eliminates the City’s concern with time restriction financing and competition with other City priorities by having the cost be the responsibility of the downtown business owners.

It should be noted that during the public meeting held for this project, the business owners indicated that if self-enforcement were not successful, they would not want to pay for the enforcement.
• If there is no business owner support for funding enforcement, the Council could consider whether or not to fund enforcement or proceed with other options. • It should be noted that in the long-term, there will still be a need to provide additional public parking supply, which would be a consideration under the Council’s future annual budget process.

Option B: Increase the Supply of Public Parking Spaces
In this option, the City would take action to increase the number of public, off-street parking spaces within Analysis Zone IV. The funding for these additional spaces would be contingent upon future budget allocations by the City and/or Redevelopment Agency. The location of the additional off-street parking would be based upon opportunities for purchase of land that is large enough to initially accommodate a surface parking lot, and structured parking in the future.

Short Term
• Provide additional angled on-street parking where it is feasible, and does not now exist. • Propose a budget for new / additional signage to direct the general public to the public parking lots.
• In cooperation with Main Street, mark curb faces in selected blocks to designate on-street parking spaces “for customers”.
• Sign the “loading zone” area near Idlers as a public loading zone – intended for vehicles with a commercial license.
• The City should make a formal decision to begin the process of acquiring one or more pieces of property to construct additional public parking lots. This property should be large enough to accommodate a parking structure in the future, and should be located in the areas identified in the report as having demand in 2002 and in the future, based upon development plans (north of the park and south of City Hall).

Medium Term
• Provide on-street handicapped access parking when better turnover is achieved or when more spaces are provided. The location of the accessible spaces should be based upon eliminating the fewest possible parking spaces and would generally be near the street corners. • Allow loading zones to be established by the Streets & Utilities Committee. On-street loading zones should be minimized and required on site when possible. On-street locations currently used as loading zones should be signed, enforced and available to all businesses on that block. • Identify sites for property acquisition and begin the process of acquiring the property(ies).

Long Term
• Complete the process of acquiring property for the construction of additional parking spaces in the downtown area – especially north of the park and south of City Hall.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 51 September 2002 Benefits of Option B:
• The City’s fiscal constraints are considered in this option by focusing on adding to the parking space supply over time and only as resources permit the increases. It is recognized that expenditures on parking related improvements or enforcement need to compete with other City priorities including but not limited to Emergency Services staffing. • This option also focuses on increasing the parking space supply without imposing unequal restrictions on particular areas of downtown.
• In the short term, the responsibility for solving the parking constraints lies with the business owners and operators who should control the parking habits of their employees.

Option C: Increase Turnover by Installing Parking Meters This option was defined so that a revenue stream for funding the parking solutions could be identified. Use of meters is considered as a use fee, and is a controversial issue with the downtown business owners. However, the Committee felt that the option should be explored because it is a viable solution that other cities have used successfully to control the parking turnover (duration) and fund parking improvements simultaneously. Table 13 on the following page provides an example of the potential costs and revenue stream of two parking meter scenarios. There are no short, medium and long term actions associated with this option. • Complete the action items in Options A and/or B. If the business owners are unwilling to pay for the enforcement personnel, and the City is unable to pay for the enforcement personnel, install parking meters.
• Time limitations at the meters could be provided in the form of temporary signage with different time limits in different locations. For example:
! No time limits in public parking lots at 12th & Railroad, Spring between 12th and 13th, and south of City Hall, and along 11th Street and outside of the core area defined below:
! A time limit of 4 hours on Spring Street and Pine Street south of 12th Street. ! A time limit of 2 hours on Park and Pine Streets from 12th to 14th Street and in the parking lot east of Marv’s Pizza.
! A time limit of 4 hours on 12th, 13th, and 14th Streets. ! Time limits would apply from 10 am through 2 pm on weekdays only. • If the City Council approves the budget, the program would be implemented with revenues from parking meters paying for the cost of the meters and enforcement; any additional revenues would be saved in a fund to create additional off-street parking. • If the Council denies the funding request, revert to Option B.

Benefits of Option C:
• The City’s fiscal constraints are considered. Expenditures on parking related improvements or enforcement need to compete with other City priorities including but not limited to Emergency Services staffing.
• Provides business owners with an opportunity to control the employee “parking problem”. If the business owners successfully control the problem, it would not be necessary to take further steps to implement time-restricted parking.
• If efforts of the business owners to control their employee parking are not successful, meters provide an effective “fall back” position to help encourage turn-over of parking spaces. • Meters provide a tool for funding their own cost, enforcement and the construction of future parking lots / structures such as is being implemented in San Luis Obispo.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 52 September 2002 Table 13 - Comparison of Costs and Revenues for Enforcement Options Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 53 September 2002 Combinations of Above Options / Related Factors:
• The process of providing increased supply of parking can be combined with either Option A or C.
• The strategies that are eventually pursued by the City should be based on assumptions that are tested in the field. For example:
− Try temporary parking controls and assess their success before establishing permanent restrictions;
− Insure that less expensive solutions are tested (e.g. new signage, public information, voluntary control of employee parking) before the City embarks on more expensive solutions (e.g. enforced parking, meters, parking structures). • The preferred option should be based on public hearings before both the Planning Commission and City Council.
• An evaluation should be completed to determine the feasibility of having a private, outside company (or individual) construct a parking structure. This could be a mixed-use development that includes a parking structure element. Under this scenario, the owner would then lease the lease the use of the structure back to the City, Main Street or another downtown organization. Upon conclusion of some preliminary research into this scenario, it appears that many cities have considered it, but none were found to have implemented this arrangement.

Cost-Effectiveness
The three options were evaluated for their cost-effectiveness and for the ability to phase the improvements so that the front-end costs are minimal.

The most cost effective solution would be to begin with the business owners supervising their own employees and dictating that they park outside of the core downtown area. There would be little or no cost for this effort, except for the time that employers would need to take to work with their employees.

Striping diagonal parking for some more of the on-street spaces would be a nominal cost, and could provide some immediate relief with a small number of additional spaces.

Improved signage indicating where additional public parking is available would also be a nominal cost and could help to manage the existing supply better by stretching the expected walk distance beyond the 1-block area that is predominate in the downtown. Approximately four signs should be located strategically in the downtown “gateways” should be installed. These signs could indicate the location of both public lots and streets that provide for long-term parking. A new sign should also be installed at the entrance to each public parking lot. The cost of these signs and the installation would be about $10,000, but cold be much more if they are elaborate. Some smaller signs could be installed along street bloc-faces indicating that long-term parking is allowed. The cost of each of these signs would be about $100.

Construction of a new public parking lot would be less cost-effective than improved turnover caused by either self-enforcement or formal enforcement, but could be more cost effective than construction of a parking structure. The cost-effective comparison of a lot with a structure is somewhat dependant upon the existing use (whether or not it is already a parking lot), or whether or not the property and is already owned by the City.

Attachment 9
El Paso de Robles Downtown Final Report - 099048000
Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan 54 September 2002 Table 14 - summarizes some of the cost effectiveness issues associated with the different parking supply options.

Table 14 – Cost Effectiveness of Different Parking Supply Options Optional Solutions Financial
Implication Comments
Time restriction
enforced with no
meters
Break even $
each year.

No new additional spaces but better turnover. Longterm outside of core Time restrictions
with meters and
revenue
About $150,000
revenue each
year (assumes
$.25/hour)
No new additional spaces but better turnover, which
would place longer-term parking outside of the
downtown core.

Construct new
paved public
parking lot (assume
75 spaces).

City owned lot =
$262,000
($3,500/space)
Lot purchase = $500,000. Purchase lot = $762,000
($10,600/space)
Construct new
parking structure
(assume 300
spaces).

Construction cost
= $10,000 –
15,000 for each
space (above
ground
- Property cost could be as much as $500,000 if
not owned by City.
- Operations and maintenance would be about
$75,000/year
- If there is a charge for parking in the structure at
some time in the future, revenues could be
$200,000 - $500,000/year
Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. - September 2002 Parking Action Plan Option Matrix
The matrix on the following page presents the downtown parking action plan options. The matrix identifies the short, medium and long-term actions described in each option on the preceding pages. It should be noted that potential revenues from parking meters are not included in the matrix. In addition, the costs for constructing new parking facilities (lots and/or structures) is not specifically identified in the matrix. This matrix should be considered by City staff and the downtown business community as a starting point of actions identified by the ad-hoc committee.

Attachment 9
Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008
Attachment 10
Table of Contents
Executive Summary i
Section 1 How did we get here?............................................................................... 1 Section 2 What are we accomplishing?.................................................................... 3 Section 3 What are the objectives?.......................................................................... 4 Section 4 Where are we?......................................................................................... 5 Section 5 What is time-regulated parking?............................................................... 6 Section 6 How much parking do we have?............................................................... 9 Section 7 How long do parkers park?....................................................................... 14 Section 8 What are the land use types..................................................................... 15 Section 9 How does a time-regulated parking system work?................................... 21 Section 10 Where should time restrictions be?.......................................................... 22 Section 11 What should the signs look like?.............................................................. 24 Section 12 Where do we put the signs?..................................................................... 26 Section 13 How do we enforce?................................................................................. 27 Section 14 What are the parking enforcement objectives?........................................ 29 Section 15 What will enforcement personnel do?....................................................... 30 Section 16 What do we need to implement a time-regulated program?..................... 31 Section 17 How much will time-regulated parking cost?............................................ 33 Section 18 What technology is available for parking enforcement?........................... 35 Section 19 How can it be paid for?............................................................................. 38 Section 20 How should parking be handled for new development?........................... 39 Section 21 How can patrons find their way around Paso Robles?............................. 42 Section 22 How do we educate the public?................................................................ 43 Section 23 Where can the residents park?................................................................. 44 Section 24 What is another alternative to improve the parking conditions?............... 47 Section 25 What do we need to do to implement the plan?....................................... 54 Addendum A – List of Companies That Offer Enforcement Technology 56 Attachment 10
Illustrations Table of Contents
Exhibit 1 Parking Management Plan Boundaries……................................................ 5 Table 1 Time Increments For Parking...................................................................... 7 Exhibit 2 Parking Analysis Zones............................................................................... 10 Table 2 Parking Supply............................................................................................ 11 Exhibit 3 On-Street Parking Locations and Number of Spaces.................................. 12 Exhibit 4 Off-Street Parking Locations and Number of Spaces.................................. 13 Table 3 Average Parking Duration........................................................................... 14 Table 4 Required Parking by Projects Completed Since 2002……………………… 17 Table 5 Required Parking by Projects Approved But Not Yet Built Since 2002…… 18 Exhibit 5 Land-Use Modifications Since 2002………………………………………….. 19 Exhibit 6 Time-Regulated Parking Zones……........................................................... 23 Exhibit 7 CAMUTCD Regulated Signage……………………..................................... 25 Table 6 Enforcement Pro Forma………................................................................... 34 Table 7 California Cities In Lieu of Fees………………………………………... 41 Exhibit 8 Possible Residential Parking Zones............................................................ 46 Table 8 Estimated Revenue – On-street Parking ………..….................................... 52 Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 i

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City of El Paso de Robles, CA, has commissioned Parking Design Group, LLP, to develop a Parking Management Plan for their downtown in order to ensure an adequate parking supply for the community, businesses, and patrons. This area does not have a lack of parking spaces, nor is a lack of parking spaces anticipated with the addition of recently approved development in the downtown; therefore, this Plan does not include a recommendation for an increase in parking spaces at this time. Rather, the perceived parking congestion has arisen from a lack of turnover in these spaces. This comprehensive Plan will ensure an adequate supply of parking during the peak periods of demand.

The City Council asked Parking Design Group to explore the feasibility and cost of implementing a time-regulated parking system in the downtown as a tool to ensure an adequate supply of convenient parking for customers and visitors. Currently many of the prime parking spaces are being used by employees instead of visitors and patrons of the downtown businesses. This creates an illusion to visitors that there are not enough parking spaces. It also adds to the amount of congestion on the city streets.

Short-term parking, from two to three hours, should be located nearest to retail businesses, restaurants, and service-oriented businesses for their patrons. Employees should park in long-term parking located further away. The restrictions placed upon employees may encourage them to seek alternate places to park or may encourage the use of alternate modes of transportation.

The use of time-regulated parking along with penalties for violators will increase parking turnover; however, its success is directly related to enforcement. The technology for enforcement varies greatly and while costly, proper management and enforcement of a timeregulated parking system will insure that drivers will accept the new parking system and alter their behavior.

The time-regulated parking system requires signage and also enforcement personnel and equipment. These facets of the system are costly and the revenues collected from parking citations will not be enough to cover the expenses. Based on the Plan’s estimates, the city’s general fund will have to supplement the parking system in excess of $115,000 annually.

For the program to pay for itself; it is necessary to reconsider implementing a pay-to-park system. The system requires motorists to pay for their parking space. It is recommended to start a trial period with a low fee to introduce the system to parking patrons and then to vary the fees based on user demand. The fee can also encourage higher parking turnover in order to ensure the preferred 10% to 15% space availability and encourage drivers to find alternate places to park or consider alternate modes of transportation.

The net revenue collected from the pay-to-park system could also meet the Council’s stated goal of parking revenues that will help fund parking improvements including increasing the parking supply through spaces and facilities, new signage, beautification projects and Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 ii
increased security. These improvements will benefit the community, businesses and the patrons.

In order to maintain an adequate supply of long- and short-term parking with space availability between 10% and 15%, and have a fiscally balanced enforcement program, Parking Design Group is recommending the following strategies which are outlined as follows:

1. Implement a time-regulated parking system with a pay-for-parking strategy to offset enforcement costs and provide funding for additional parking in the downtown

2. Initiate enforcement activities following a brief phase-in period

3. Develop a public and merchant information campaign

4. Develop a uniform signage and wayfinding package

5. Re-evaluate the existing per-space fee of the in-lieu of parking fee program

6. Implement a residential parking permit program if impacts on adjacent residential neighborhoods are experienced
By implementing these strategies, the downtown will be equipped with the best possible comprehensive Parking Management Plan.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 1
SECTION 1
HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Parking has historically been an issue of great importance to the Downtown El Paso de Robles business community. In the 1970’s the downtown area was experiencing declining vitality. In an effort to improve the downtown core, a Business Improvement District (BID) was established, parking meters were removed from downtown streets and several public parking lots were constructed.

In the 1980’s an assessment district was established to fund the construction of additional parking lots. A parking assessment district is a system where the City levies an annual assessment on all lands and improvements within the Parking District to pay debt service, and maintenance, operations, and improvement costs. The annual assessment continues but is limited to “the general promotion of retail trade activities in the downtown area” and is no longer intended to acquire, operate, or maintain downtown parking.

In 2002 Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., was commissioned by the City of Paso Robles to conduct a Downtown Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan. This analysis determined that there was sufficient parking supply in the downtown study area to meet the current customer and employee parking demand. However, many of these spaces fell outside of what was commonly considered acceptable walking distance for Paso Robles parking patrons. Based on business and patron surveys, the common acceptable walking distance in Paso Robles was roughly one block or approximately one minute from vehicle to destination. In addition, it was found that a lack of enforced time-restricted parking led to a very low turnover rate. The main cause was determined to be that downtown employees were using parking spaces for extended periods during the day.

Following the Kimley-Horn report in 2002, the Paso Robles City Council adopted the Downtown Parking Action Plan. Several changes were made including the creation of additional spaces through the development of angled parking in some downtown areas; improved signage directing customers to available parking, new parking ordinances including the introduction of an in-lieu fee program and a program where the downtown merchants association (Main Street) would explore voluntary efforts to encourage employees to park outside of the downtown core. Time-restricted and/or metered parking was tabled for possible future consideration.

In 2007, there was an update to the Downtown Parking Action Plan. While the addition of angled parking increased the supply of parking for the area, it was recognized that additional measures were needed to address the parking supply and behaviors. It was concluded that the voluntary program where merchants asked their employees to park outside the core area was met with minimal success and parking turnover in prime downtown spaces remained very low. The update recommended several options, including expanding the acceptable walking distance from one block or approximately one minute to three to four blocks, or approximately 2 ½ minutes; seeking out opportunities to acquire property in the downtown area to increase the parking supply; explore greater use of alternative transportation options; and to increase parking turnover by implementing a time-regulated or pay-for-parking system in the core downtown area.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 2
In September 2007, Parking Design Group, LLP, was commissioned to prepare a Parking Management Plan focusing on the implementation of a time-regulated parking system in and around the core business area of downtown Paso Robles. The basis of this parking management plan was to use the data from the 2002 Kimley-Horn Downtown Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan with a minimal amount of updating to determine the parking supply, utilization and turnover rates.
“A goal of 15% available parking allows good usage of the parking, yet having spaces readily available.”
Dr. Donald Shoup
UCLA Professor
Author of The High Cost of Free Parking
“As our case is new, so must we think anew, and act anew.” Abraham Lincoln
Public Library, Paso Robles City Park
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 3
SECTION 2
WHAT ARE WE ACCOMPLISHING?
In addition to providing a tool for the City to incorporate a successful Parking Management Plan, Parking Design Group was also requested to assess the cost associated with implementing a pay-by-space, or pay-and-display system in the downtown area as a way to off-set costs associated with implementation of the Parking Management Plan. The intent of this comprehensive plan is to encourage proper parking space turnover so that adequate parking is available throughout downtown Paso Robles area during peak parking periods.

There are unique issues associated with parking in downtown and tourist areas where land is valuable and relatively scarce, and large numbers of people converge to dine, shop, visit and work. A lack of adequate parking, or even the perception of a lack of adequate parking, is often cited as a reason for the declining vitality of an area. It is important to acknowledge that parking is not an end to itself, but a means to serve the needs of various users including workers, shoppers, tourists, residents and business owners. Comprehensive management of the downtown and peripheral parking supply is integral to serve these needs.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 4
SECTION 3
WHAT ARE THE OBJECTIVES?
The implementation of this Parking Management Plan will allow for the fulfillment of several objectives. These objectives are:
• Encouraging the development of a neo-traditional downtown feeling (revival of the traditional downtown) by promoting the downtown Paso Robles area as the heart of the city with a strong sense of community as it relates to pedestrian access and parking. Many cities across America are returning to their roots and reclaiming their historic downtown cores for shopping, entertainment and living. • Providing adequate on-street spaces for customers and visitors while maintaining the historic pedestrian downtown atmosphere.
• Making Downtown Paso Robles parking more inviting for customers, visitors and workers.
• Promoting adequate on-street parking turnover.
• Providing options for mid-term parkers, e.g. theater and entertainment uses. • Providing options for long-term parkers, e.g. employees, residents, etc. • Preserving the quality of neighborhoods surrounding downtown.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 5
SECTION 4
WHERE ARE WE?
The project area is approximately a 50 square block area in downtown Paso Robles. It is generally bounded by 17th Street on the north, 6th Street on the south, Olive Street on the east and the railroad tracks near Riverside Drive on the west. The Parking Management Plan area boundaries can be seen in Exhibit 1.

Exhibit 1
Parking Management Plan Boundaries
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Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 6
SECTION 5
WHAT IS TIME-REGULATED PARKING?
In a typical downtown business district there are many different user-groups competing for the same spaces. These users are customers, business owners, residents, employees, tourists and delivery. This diverse mix of people makes managing the parking supply and prioritizing certain types of users critical to the success of the downtown area.

The most convenient parking spaces closest to shops, restaurants and other service-oriented businesses should be regulated for short-term use by patrons. Customers and visitors should have access to the prime spots nearest to the businesses, while employees and business owners should be encouraged to park away from the core area or use alternative transportation modes including walking the three to four blocks to their place of business and employment. To keep prime spaces available for patrons, curb parking can be controlled through time regulation strategies and/or with pay-for-parking options such as meters, payand-display machines or pay-by-space machines.

Parking regulation strategies can help control who, when, and how long a vehicle parks at a certain location in order to prioritize use. This ensures that the most convenient parking spaces are available to the downtown patrons. They can also help to reduce the parking demand in the area by encouraging location and travel-mode shift. For example, restrictions on long-term parking may cause some employees to park at other locations not as proximate to their workplace, and others to commute by other transportation options such as rideshare, bicycle or walking.

Time-regulated parking strategies put limits on parking duration and penalize violators in order to increase parking turnover behavior. With higher parking turnover, more cars and/or more customers can use the same number of parking spaces. Alternatively, increasing the parking supply (i.e. total number of available spaces) can be a very costly endeavor; therefore, having more cars using the existing parking supply is a more cost effective and desirable option for managing the existing supply of available downtown parking.

Time-regulated limitations ranging from 60 to 120 minutes improve the turnover rate so that each space can serve between six to twelve vehicles per day. Shorter time limitations increase turnover, but could place constraints on the types of activities available to patrons.

The time limits that are too short may frustrate patrons who are unable to complete their activities within the allowable time period and could be detrimental to the economic vitality of Downtown Paso Robles. Industry studies have shown that most stays in downtown business districts are an average of 1.5 hours, which could easily be accommodated within a 2-hour parking limit zone. Stays for some venues, such as theaters and cinemas, may require longer parking durations and will be specifically addressed later in this plan.

In addition to increasing parking turnover, time limits can also affect how people choose to travel. Recent studies of parking behavior in central business districts found that places with less restrictive time limits tended to have more people driving alone and less use of alternative modes of transportation. However, time regulations combined with pay-forAttachment 10 Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 7
parking strategies are more likely to influence travel and parking behaviors than timeregulated strategies alone. Later in this Parking Management Plan, pay-to-park options and economics will be discussed.

The duration for time-regulated parking can range from a few minutes in loading/unloading zones, a pick-up/drop-off area, or delivery vehicle parking, to ten to twelve hours for employee or commuter parking. This will depend on the community needs and its access to alternative transportation. Many communities incorporate a combination of different time limits in different areas to accommodate drivers with different purposes. Table 1 shows various time limits as they relate to duration, reason and location.

Duration Reason Location
Very short 3 to10 minutes Drop off and deliveries
Hospital, transportation terminals, theaters,
hotels, stores
Short 15 to 30 minutes Quick errands Post offices, convenients stores, etc.

Medium 30 minutes to 4 hours Shopping and dining restaurants, shops, movies Long 6 to 8 hours Employment Out of main business district, off-street lots Extended 8 to 16 hours Residential Out of main business district, residential streets Time Increments for Parking
Table 1
Time-regulated parking strategies are generally less likely to generate opposition from the community and stakeholders than other parking management strategies such as meters or pay-and-display. Many communities across America have successfully used time-regulated parking to address a myriad of parking issues, including dissuading employees from parking all day in prime spots adjacent to businesses. In all cities and parking-stressed areas, the success of a time-regulated parking strategy is directly associated with proper enforcement of the strategy.

Time-regulated strategies may have several associated disadvantages.

1. Enforcement of time limits is labor intensive and difficult. Time-limited parking is more difficult to enforce than meters or pay-and-display machines because enforcement officers must visit a vehicle twice to determine if it has stayed over the limit. For example, enforcement officers have to observe and/or chalk all the tires on a sweep of the downtown area, and then two hours later make another sweep and issue citations for vehicles parked over the posted time limit. Pay-to-park systems, on the other hand, only require one visit or observation.

2. Time-regulated strategies require an initial investment. Items like signage and installation, enforcement hardware and software, and office space and staffing all require an initial investment which is usually drawn from a city’s general fund.

3. Downtown employees who quickly become familiar with enforcement patterns often become adept at a common parking phenomenon termed the "two-hour shuffle".

They move their cars regularly or swap spaces with a coworker several times during the workday in order to maintain their prime parking spaces and limit their walking distance to and from their vehicle. Even with strictly enforced time limits, if there is Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 8
no incentive program to deter employees and business owners from occupying the prime spaces and encourage them to seek out less convenient, more remote options, they will still attempt to be creative and park in prime spaces.

4. For customers, strict enforcement may cause ticket anxiety, which is the fear of getting a ticket if one overstays their parking limit by just a few minutes. This may affect patrons shopping and dining behavior. However, after a transition period, most people understand the parking conditions and the level of ticket anxiety decreases.

Many patrons are already accustomed to parking regulations from past experiences and the amount of ticket anxiety faced by tourists is usually less that that from the local community.

5. For some customers, strict enforcement may also cause anger over receiving a parking ticket for overstaying their time-regulated parking. This is a normal part of the process. Studies have demonstrated that this anger usually subsides as the timeregulated parking program becomes established. In time, patrons become familiar with the system and the repercussions for overstaying the time-regulations.

Though these issues may be considered a downside to time-regulated parking, they instill the mentality necessary to a successful parking management plan. Improvements often cause “growing pains” during the transition periods, especially in the beginning.

Parking Wayfinding Sign, Downtown Paso Robles
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 9
SECTION 6
HOW MUCH PARKING DO WE HAVE?
The parking supply in any municipality consists of publicly available on-street and off-street parking, as well as private off-street parking. Publicly available parking is made up of those spaces available to the general public regardless of their trip purpose. Publicly available lots or structures can be publicly or privately owned and operated. Private parking is only available to specific users, such as employees for certain companies or patrons to certain establishments, such as downtown offices. The supply is the total number of spaces, regardless of whether or not they are utilized.

On-street parking is typically available to everyone regardless of their trip purpose. However, in order to ensure turnover and maximum utilization, the parking should be adequately managed. On-street parking is best suited to serve short-term parking (generally two hours or less). Therefore, long-term parking, such as employee parking is discouraged through time regulation and enforcement.

Information regarding on-street and off-street public parking was presented in the 2002 Kimley-Horn Downtown Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan. Field surveys were conducted to determine the location, capacity and utilization of public parking spaces within the study area. Study recommendations were implemented including the creation of angled parking. The current supply was updated and information provided that was used for the maps, recommendations and pro forma for this Parking Management Plan. It should be noted that the exact number of on-street spaces could not be precisely defined because not all of the spaces are designated with striping. The Kimley-Horn study divided the study area into five analysis zones. For consistency and clarity, the same zones were used here to tabulate the parking supply. Exhibit 2 demonstrates the parking analysis zones.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 10
Exhibit 2
Parking Analysis Zones
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 11
Table 2 provides a summary of the updated parking supply.

Zone On-Street Spaces Off-Street Spaces Number of Spaces I 483 0 483
II 595 0 595
III 454 99 553
IV 764 167 931
V 393 22 415
Totals 2,689 288 2,977
Parking Supply
Table 2
Downtown on-street parking spaces are usually the most valuable parking spaces. In most mid-sized cities, the economic value of each on-street space can be estimated to be worth from $2,500 to $3,500 in annual retail sales. These spaces are the life-blood of the street level retail, restaurant and services that downtowns try to support and attract. It is critical that they be reserved for customers and patrons to maintain the local economic vitality.

On-street parking is generally a resource that is often mismanaged and inadequately patrolled or enforced. This can result in decreased customer satisfaction, increased traffic congestion, and potential loss of revenue. Many cities are figuring out how to make the most of this resource through such measures as adding new spaces, better regulating loading zones, using new technology to improve enforcement and increase revenues, and placing the responsibility for on-street enforcement in the hands of parking authorities.

There are approximately 2,689 on-street public parking spaces and 288 off-street public parking spaces in the study area. Refer to Exhibit 3 for the location of each on-street parking space and Exhibit 4 for the location of each off-street parking space.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 12
Exhibit 3
On-Street Parking Locations and Number of Spaces
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 13
Exhibit 4
Off-Street Parking Locations and Number of Spaces
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 14
SECTION 7
HOW LONG DO PARKERS PARK?
The 2002, Kimley-Horn study also focused on parking utilization and duration. Parking utilization is the ratio of occupied spaces to the total number of spaces. The utilization of onstreet and off-street parking spaces throughout the study area was surveyed and recorded.

Data was collected and recorded in one-hour intervals throughout the day. The study found that in general, there were a sufficient number of parking spaces to accommodate the employee and customer demand. However, parking demand often exceeded capacity at certain peak times during the day. The weekday business hours tended to have the highest demand. The study found that the area surrounding the city park is often 100% full for the peak period of 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on weekdays, while areas further from the park were considerably less occupied.

Parking duration is the amount of time, on average, that a vehicle is parked in a parking space without being moved. Duration data can help determine how many cars are parked in each parking space during a day. The parking supply remains constant, but a higher amount of turnover can increase the amount of cars parked each day. For example, if an employee parks in a prime space for an 8-hour shift, that space provides for a parking supply of only one car. On the other hand, if there is a two-hour time limit, that same space could potentially accommodate at least four times the visitors or vehicles.

Kimley-Horn observed and recorded average parking duration at twelve different locations throughout the study area. Each designated parking space was observed hourly from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and the license plate was recorded. It was determined that throughout the study area, the average duration on weekdays was 4 hours and 45 minutes for on-street parking spaces and 5 hours and 30 minutes for off-street parking spaces. Saturdays and Sundays were significantly less. Longer duration is a typical characteristic of employee parking. Table 3 below shows a summary of the average duration by analysis zone on a weekday, Saturday and Sunday.

Zone
On-Street Off-Street On-Street Off-Street On-Street Off-Street I 6:30 N/A 2:30 N/A 2:00 N/A
II 4:00 N/A 2:45 N/A 2:15 N/A
III 3:30 4:30 2:30 4:00 3:00 3:15
IV 4:00 5:30 2:00 3:15 1:45 2:15
V 6:00 6:30 2:00 3:45 2:00 3:00
AVG. 4:45 5:30 2:15 3:45 2:15 2:45
Average Parking Duration
Table 3
Source: Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. July 2002
Sunday
(Hours/Minutes)
Saturday
(Hours/Minutes)
Weekday
(Hours/Minutes)
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 15
SECTION 8
WHAT ARE THE LAND USE TYPES?
Several major land use types were evaluated to determine the various parking demands in the study area. Each of these land uses may, and often do, require different parking duration requirements. For instance, a post office may require a maximum of a 30-minute parking regulated zone, where a theater might require a 3-hour or longer parking zone. The various land uses observed in the Paso Robles Downtown area include; • Retail
• Restaurant (fine dining, café, bar, bistro, etc.)
• Service (hair salon, wine tasting, etc.)
• Cinema
• Hotel
• City Services (City Hall, Public Library, Courthouse, etc.) • Transit Center
• Residential
• Industrial (lumberyard)
• Churches
• Post Office
Since the completion of the 2002 Kimley-Horn Downtown Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan, there have been several land-use changes in the downtown area. Some of these changes include new construction, renovations due to earthquake damage, current construction or projects in the planning process. Each of these may influence the parking conditions in downtown Paso Robles. These projects include:

Buildings built, renovated or expanded since 2002:

McMillan Offices, 829 10th Street
Cheval Hotel, 1021 Pine Street
Gearhart Offices, 1526 Spring Street
Mastagni Com/offices, 739 12th Street (2,300 sf is addition to 5,000 existing prior to quake) Mastagni com/offices, 801 12th Street (15,400 sf is addition to 12,000 existing prior to quake) Heritage Oaks offices, 1224 Vine street
Country Real Estate, 30 14th (1,400 sf is addition)
Gilson commercial, 1307 Park Street (5,400 sf replaced quake damaged building) Gilson commercial, 1309 Park Street (3,300 sf replaced quake damaged building) Paso Robles Inn, 1103 Spring Street (10,000 sf/18 rooms) Hixson commercial, 1530 Spring Street
Culver offices, 724 Spring Street
Office conversion, 1545 Park Street
Dental office, 1428 Oak Street
Offices, 806 9th Street
Villa Creek Addition, 1144 Pine Street (700 sf addition to restaurant) Medical Office,1004 Vine Street
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 16
Medical Office,1020 Vine Street
Commercial/offices, 1400 Railroad Street
Bridge’s Commercial,1319 Spring Street
Restaurants, 828 11th Street (1,800 sf addition)
County Courts building, the block between 9th and 10th streets and Park and Pine Streets Projects Approved But Not Yet Built in the Downtown Parking Area Since 2002 Arciero offices, 1344 Oak Street - 14,500 sf
Hamm offices, 1503 Park Street - 3,600 sf
Lloyd mixed use, 820 Park Street - 23,000 sf
Ostrander mixed use, 721 Pine Street - 6,700 sf
Gearhart offices, 1524 Spring street - 2,300 sf
Gearhart offices, 1518 SpringStreet - 2,300 sf
Twisselman spa/salon, 1421 Spring Street - 1,800 sf (additional to 3,000 sf on site) Commercial/office, 1405 Spring Street - 4,600 sf
Pankey office/retail, 446 Spring Street - 15,900 sf
Offices , 811 12th Street - 11,800 sf
Heritage Oaks Bank addition, 545 12th Street - 8,000 sf Lekai commercial, 612 12th Street - 2,000 sf (addition to on site) Convert residence to office, 1520 Oak Street - 1,000 sf Madson mixed use, 745 Park Street - 3,800 sf
Paso Robles Inn: conference center, 1103 Spring Street - 6,500 sf Paso Robles Inn: spa/fitness center, 1103 Spring Street - 6,620 sf These land uses could impact the parking conditions of the downtown area. An increase in occupied space usually correlates with an increase in demand for parking spaces with more vehicles now competing for prime spots. In addition it may also impact the availability of residential parking when these new projects are located adjacent to residential parking areas.

Table 4 – Required Parking by Projects Completed Since 2002 and Table 5 – Required Parking by Projects Approved Since 2002, show the estimated required parking calculations for the recently built projects (since 2002 to present) and the projects that have been approved by the City, but not built as of the time of this writing. These parking requirement calculations are “pure” calculations based on the previously-used Paso Robles Downtown Zoning Code Area Parking Space Requirements (Chapter 21.22 Sections 21.22.035 and

21.22.040). Shared-use considerations have not been applied to these calculations, which would reduce the overall estimated required parking totals. Clarification may be needed to ensure accuracy and land use of each project. However, these estimations provide a realistic understanding of the impact that these new and proposed projects may have on the Downtown Paso Robles Area. Recent on-site visits indicated that, with consideration to expanding the acceptable walking distance to three to four blocks (per May 30, 2007 meeting notes), adequate parking is available. It is also assumed that the built projects’ parking requirements/demands have been “absorbed” into the current parking supply and usage.

However, if the acceptable walking distance is not positively received by the public, then the Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 17
perceived lack of parking supply in the core activity area will be more acute with the new demand generated by the new construction.

Table 4
Required Parking by Projects Completed Since 2002
Building Address
Square
Feet
Parking
Ratio
Required
Parking
McMillan Offices 829 10th Street 3,500 1/ 400 sf 9
Cheval Hotel (16
hotel rooms)
1021 Pine Street 12,200 1/room +
employees* 20
Gearhart Offices 1526 Spring Street 2,200
1/ 400 sf 6
Mastagni
Com/offices
739 12th Street 2,300
1/ 400 sf 6
Mastagni
com/offices
801 12th Street 15,400
1/ 400 sf 39
Heritage Oaks
Offices
1224 Vine Street 19,500
1/ 400 sf 49
Country Real Estate 630 14th Street 1,400
1/ 400 sf 4
Gilson commercial 1307 Park Street 5,400
1/ 400 sf **
Gilson commercial 1309 Park Street 3,300
1/ 400 sf **
Paso Robles Inn (18
hotel rooms)
1103 Spring Street 10,000 1/room +
employees* 22
Hixson commercial 1530 Spring Street 2,000
1/ 400 sf 5
Culver offices 724 Spring Street 4,200 1/ 400 sf 11
Office conversion 1545 Park Street 1,400 1/ 400 sf 4
Dental office 1428 Oak Street 3,900 1/ 200 sf 20
Offices 806 9th Street 11,900 1/ 400 sf 30
Villa Creek (Addition
to restaurant)
1144 Pine Street 700
1/ 150 sf 5
Medical Office 1004 Vine Street 2,700 1/ 200 sf 14
Medical Office 1020 Vine Street 2,100 1/ 200 sf 11
Commercial/offices 1400 Railroad
Street
10,300
1/ 400 sf 26
Bridge’s Commercial 1319 Spring Street 9,600
1/ 400 sf 24
Restaurants 828 11th Street 1,800 1/150 sf 12
317
Notes: * - Hotel employee information not supplied; therefore, demand assumption based on 1 parking space per room plus assumed employee count. ** - Replaced earthquake damage building - no additional requirements generated.

Required parking by projects completed since 2002
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El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 18
Table 5
Required Parking by Projects Approved But Not Yet Built Since 2002 Building Address
Square
Feet
Parking
Ratio
Required
Parking
Arciero offices 1344 Oak Street 14,500 1/ 400 sf 37
Hamm offices 1503 Park Street 3,600 1/ 400 sf 9
Lloyd mixed use 820 Park Street 23,000 1/ 400 sf 58
Ostrander mixed use 721 Pine Street 6,700 1/ 400 sf 17
Gearhart offices 1524 Spring Street 2,300 1/ 400 sf 6
Gearhart offices 1518 Spring Street 2,300 1/ 400 sf 6
Twisselman
spa/salon 1421 Spring Street 1,800 1/ 400 sf 5
Commercial/office 1405 Spring Street 4,600 1/ 400 sf 12 Pankey office/retail 1446 Spring Street 15,900 1/ 400 sf 40 Offices 811 12th Street 11,800 1/ 400 sf 30
Heritage Oaks Bank
addition 545 12th Street 8,000 1/ 400 sf 20
Lekai commercial 612 12th Street 2,000 1/ 200 sf 5
Convert residence to
office 1520 Oak Street 1,000 1/ 400 sf 3
Madson mixed use 745 Park Street 3,800 1/ 150 sf 10
PR Inn: conference
center 1103 Spring Street 6,500 1/400 sf *
PR Inn: spa/fitness
center 1103 Spring Street 6,620 1/ 400 sf *
258
* - these additions are part of the existing hotel and it is assumed that patronsalready staying at the hotel will use them and therefore not increase the required parking.

Required parking by projects approved since 2002
Exhibit 5 illustrates the location of these land uses. This map is an approximation based on aerial view positioning meant to be used for reference purposes only.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 19
Exhibit 5
Land-Use Modifications Since 2002
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 20

PARKING MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
To ensure adequate parking availability for its patrons, Paso Robles must have a comprehensive Parking Management Plan that includes time-regulated parking strategies, effective enforcement and ongoing evaluations. The need for parking in a downtown area with heavy tourism or commercial use is different from other areas of the city, in that uses are close together so visitors may park in one space for multiple purposes such as shopping, sight-seeing, recreation and personal business. While at the same time, employees require a place to park. As a result, parking must be considered comprehensively rather than by each use and site. As in many similar tourist areas, there is the challenge of providing shortterm, convenient, proximate parking for visitors and customers while providing long-term parking for employees and residents.

The following strategies will assist Downtown Paso Robles to optimize the use and accessibility of existing parking in the downtown area:

1. Implement a time-regulated parking system and consider funding strategies such as pay-for-parking.

2. Initiate enforcement activities following a brief phase-in period.

3. Develop a public and merchant information campaign.

4. Develop a uniform signage and wayfinding package.

5. Re-evaluate the existing per-space fee of the in-lieu of parking fee program.

6. Implement a residential parking permit program if impacts on adjacent residential neighborhoods are experienced.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 21
SECTION 9
HOW DOES A TIME-REGULATED PARKING SYSTEM WORK?
Currently, Downtown Paso Robles is without posted time limits. Parking time limits for zones, streets, curbs, etc., should be established and enforced where parking is in short supply and is being monopolized by long-term parkers where a higher turnover rate is desired. On-street time limits should be set to maximize the opportunity for short-term parking. All on-street and off-street parking should be limited to 2-hour or 3-hour parking based on the parking space locations relative to the downtown core which contains the various land uses.

The purpose of a time-regulated parking system is to ensure that adequate parking, usually 10% to 15% of the available parking spaces, is available at any given time. This requires proper signage and enforcement of the posted time limits.

Proper enforcement requires scheduled patrols by parking enforcement officers, whether on foot, on bicycle or in a vehicle. The enforcement officer would chalk vehicle tires either manually or electronically to determine the length of time the vehicle is parked.

Upon the next scheduled patrol of the area, vehicles that have parked beyond the posted time limits would be given a parking citation, either manually or electronically with a specific fine to be paid. Currently that amount is $20.00 in the City of Paso Robles.

Revenues collected from parking citation and late fees would be used to off-set the operating costs associated with parking enforcement. Typically, cities providing free parking with enforcement will experience a net operating income deficit. Additional funding from other sources will be required to properly manage this type of parking system.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 22
SECTION 10
WHERE SHOULD TIME RESTRICTIONS BE?
Based upon on-site observations there should be both 2-hour and 3-hour time restricted parking zones within the parking management plan area. These limits would provide adequate time for patrons to conduct their business while allowing for efficient turnover and utilization.

The Kimley-Horn study of 2002 identified Analysis Zone IV as having the highest demand for parking at any given time and had the highest concentration of parking activity. The high turnover and prime parking spaces within this area should have a 2-hour time limit established between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. This is the area around the City Park. It is generally bounded by 13th Street on the north, Pine Street on the east, 10th Street on the south and Spring Street on the west. It includes the 25-space 12th Street Lot and the 67-space City Hall Lot. For reference, please see Exhibit 5 below.

There is a high concentration of restaurants, retail shops and services in this area. A 2-hour time limit should be sufficient to allow patrons to visit the restaurants and shops. At the same time it should create enough turn-over to allow a vacancy factor of 10% to 15% for on-street parking and provide parking for other businesses while discouraging long-term employee parking. As the Parking Management Plan matures and input/observations from enforcement officers are available, consideration to a minimal number of short-term (20- or 30-minute limit) could be added at select spaces. For instance, for quick book drop-off at the library, paying fees at City Hall, etc.

Beyond this centralized area there should be 3-hour time restricted parking zones.

These areas should generally be:

1. the area bounded by 15th Street on the north, 13th Street on the south, Vine Street on the west and Pine Street on the east, including the 22-space Park Street Lot and the 33-space Spring Street Lot.

2. the area bounded by 10th Street on the north, 8th Street on the south, Vine Street on the west and Pine Street on the east, including the 99-space Transit Center Lot.

3. the area bounded by 12th Street on the north and 10th Street on the south along Railroad Street and the 42-space Railroad Lot.

Because this is a new program, it is recommended to only apply time-regulations in these 2- hour and 3-hour zones. The time restricted area can be expanded in the future if it is deemed necessary.

The streets within the Parking Management Plan area that fall outside of the 2-hour and 3- hour time-regulated zones could be made into a residential parking permit zone in the future.

For the time being, It is recommended to leave them as they are, with free, non-restricted parking. Employees seeking long-term parking options may spill over into the residential streets outside of the core activity area; however, there is currently sufficient supply to accommodate them without impacting the parking habits of residents at this time.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 23
The findings of the 2002 Kimley-Horn Downtown Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan demonstrated that the areas could accommodate the extra parking needs. It is recommended that the City of Paso Robles initiate a survey of local residents after six months of the initiation of this Parking Management Plan. At that time, it will be more efficient to analyze the effects of the Parking Management Plan on the local community.

Exhibit 6 illustrates the location of the 2-hour zone, 3-hour zone and the potential residential parking permit program.

Exhibit 6
Time-Regulated Parking Zones
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 24
SECTION 11
WHAT SHOULD THE SIGNS LOOK LIKE?
In order to provide the proper information to inform the public of the time-regulated parking zones, post-mounted signs will need to be installed throughout the time-regulated parking zones.

In 2006, the California Department of Transportation adopted the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (FHWA’s MUTCD 2003 Revision 1, as amended for use in California), also called the California MUTCD, to prescribe uniform standards and specifications for all official traffic control devices in California. This action was taken pursuant to the provisions of the California Vehicle Code Section 21400 and the recommendation of the California Traffic Control Devices Committee (CTCDC).

This includes Section 2B.40 Design of Parking, Standing, and Stopping Signs which states:

The legend on parking signs shall state applicable regulations. Parking signs shall conform to the standards of shape, color, and location. Where only limited-time parking or parking in a particular manner are permitted, the signs shall have a green legend and border on a white background.

Parking signs should display the following information from top to bottom of the sign, in the order listed:

A. The restriction or prohibition;
B. The times of the day that it is applicable, if not at all hours; and C. The days of the week that it is applicable, if not every day.

If the parking restriction applies to a limited area or zone, the limits of the restriction should be shown by arrows or supplemental plaques. If arrows are used and if the sign is at the end of a parking zone, there should be a single-headed arrow pointing in the direction that the regulation is in effect. If the sign is at an intermediate point in a zone, there should be a double-headed arrow pointing both ways. When a single sign is used at the transition point between two parking zones, it should display a right and left arrow pointing in the direction that the respective restrictions apply.

Exhibit 7 is an example that shows the specifications of the time-regulated signage.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 25
Exhibit 7
CAMUTCD Regulated Signage
Attachment 10
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El Paso de Robles, CA
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SECTION 12
WHERE DO WE PUT THE SIGNS?
The time-regulated parking system will require the placement of signage on each city block identifying the allowed parking time. Typically, two (2) signs per city block on each side of the street are adequate.

Section 2B.41 Placement of Parking, Stopping, and Standing Signs outlines the following regulations for signage placement.

When signs with arrows are used to indicate the extent of the restricted zones, the signs should be set at an angle of not less than 30 degrees nor more than 45 degrees with the line of traffic flow in order to be visible to approaching traffic. Spacing of signs should be based on legibility and sign orientation.

Based upon the areas that have been identified to be time regulated, there would be a need for approximately 200 signs and poles (includes extra for replacement purposes) at an estimated total cost of $20,000.00 including installation (200 x $100 per sign, post and installation). This cost should be included in the existing overall signage budget for the City.

Future revenues from citations and delinquent fees can be used to offset the cost of the signs and installation. It’s assumed that the City of Paso Robles Public Works Department would install the signs.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 27
SECTION 13
HOW DO WE ENFORCE?
The success of any strategy that effectively helps to manage the parking supply is in direct proportion to the amount of enforcement demonstrated. Regular and on-going parking enforcement by the City of Paso Robles is integral to the success of this plan. It is imperative that the City enhances its enforcement initiative in order for the strategies outlined in this Parking Management Plan to be effective.

The associated fines for parking violations should be high enough and enforced frequently enough to motivate motorists to follow regulations and pay fees. If fines are too low, or enforcement too infrequent, some motorists will simply ignore the regulations, and treat the possibility and fines as a parking fee to be paid if they are unlucky enough to be caught in violation. Residents and employees in particular pay strict attention to enforcement practices when they decide where and when to park their vehicles. If enforcement is lax or fines are too low, more parking violations occur.

It is important to have a system to collect outstanding parking fines. This may include use of a boot (a clamp that immobilizes a vehicle) or towing of vehicles that have more than ten (10) unpaid fines, a restriction on renewing vehicle or driver’s licenses if parking fines are outstanding, or the use of collection agencies. Aggressive collection of fines and application of penalties and punishment will help ensure the efficiency of this Parking Management Plan.

The City of Paso Robles commissioned the Phoenix Group to manage their traffic citations and set the fee schedule for parking violations. According to their fee schedule, the fine for parking prohibited by posted sign is currently set at $20 (Municipal Code 12.32.150 PRMC).

This fee is relatively low and may not be an adequate deterrent to keep parkers from overstaying the parking limitations. However, since the fee is already established and the time-regulated parking system is a new strategy, keeping with the established fee schedule and charging $20 per violation may be prudent. Raising the violation fee may be an option in the future if the current fee structure and implemented strategy do not achieve the anticipated results.

Currently, the City charges a $10 delinquent fee for unpaid tickets. Rather than initially raising the parking violation fee, this policy should be re-evaluated and the delinquent fee should be considerably higher to deter people from illegally parking and accumulating parking citations. This modification to the system would be met with less resistance than increasing the parking violation fee, as the initial violators will not be charged more for their violation; however, those who do not pay the violation in a timely manner would be penalized.

To ensure compliance with parking regulations and to achieve the anticipated revenues, enforcement officers should be on duty during all regulated hours daily between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Sundays and Holidays should be free.

In an effort to facilitate a smooth transition to the new Parking Management Plan, and as a sign of goodwill to the general public, enforcement officers should issue written warnings rather than citations for vehicles’ first offenses during the first 30 to 60 days of the new timeAttachment 10 Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 28
regulated system. This goodwill gesture could also be used on an on-going basis on holidays to promote downtown activities.

In recognition of budgetary limitations, as well as scheduling constraints of city personnel, the Paso Robles City Council may want to consider entering into a contract with a private firm to conduct parking enforcement and hire, train, and manage enforcement officers. In addition, should Paso Robles implement a pay-for-parking system, a similar arrangement could be made to install parking payment stations, collect and account for parking revenues, and monitor and maintain equipment.

This option should be reviewed by the City’s legal department to determine if such a contract would violate any employee bargaining agreement that may currently be in place.

Parking Lot, Downtown Paso Robles
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 29
SECTION 14
WHAT ARE THE PARKING ENFORCEMENT OBJECTIVES?
On-street parking in the downtown business core and surrounding areas serve many competing interests. Parking enforcement plays a vital role to ensure that the parking spaces are used in the best interests of the community. The primary objectives of enforcement are:
• Support the on-street parking system by equitably and consistently enforcing the parking regulations.
• Encourage compliance of the City's parking regulations. • Promote traffic and pedestrian safety.
• Maximize the capacity of the existing parking supply through increased turnover/ parking utilization.
• Protect access needed for commerce and public convenience, clear freight loading zones of all day commuters to allow adequate delivery space for commercial businesses, provide for a more efficient delivery of goods and services. • Enhance the quality of life in residential neighborhoods by managing the amount of downtown customer and visitor parking.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
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SECTION 15
WHAT WILL ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL DO?
The specific duties of enforcement personnel vary from workplace to workplace depending on an array of circumstances and budgetary conditions. In general, the duties of enforcement personnel are as follows:
• Patrol an assigned area by vehicle or on foot to ensure public compliance with existing parking ordinance.
• Maintain close communications with dispatching personnel, using two-way radios or cell phones.
• Write warnings and citations for illegally parked vehicles. • Mark tires of parked vehicles with chalk and record time of marking, and return at regular intervals to ensure that parking time limits are not exceeded (may be upgraded depending on automation afforded/desired).
• Respond to and make radio dispatch calls regarding parking violations and complaints.
• Train new and temporary staff.
• Identify vehicles in violation of parking codes, checking with dispatchers when necessary to confirm identities or to determine whether vehicles need to be booted or towed.
• Observe and report hazardous conditions such as missing traffic signals or signs, and street markings that need to be repainted.
• Investigate and answer complaints regarding contested parking citations, determining their validity and routing them appropriately.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 31
SECTION 16
WHAT DO WE NEED TO IMPLEMENT A TIME-REGULATED PROGRAM?
Parking Enforcement Officers, as well as the proper equipment, will be necessary to properly enforce the time restriction put into place. The equipment can be as simple as a handheld tire chalk stick, two-way radio and a book of traffic/parking citations, or as advanced as vehicles equipped with License Plate Recognition (LPR), Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and electronic tire chalking.

The automated equipment comes with the hardware/software required to issue parking citations along with the necessary hardware/software to support the administrative portion in the office to upload the information into a database with capabilities to track the issuance and payment of citations.

Following is a brief summary of two such systems available:

Handheld Computers
These systems are offered by several manufactures and offer mobile citation writing, photograph capability, electronic tire chalking, wireless connectivity, real-time syncing and uploading.

The approximate cost of such a system is approximately $4,800 per handheld unit. This includes a one-time software license fee of $2,500. There is generally a monthly software support fee associated with these systems for updates, technical support, etc.

It should be noted that most manufactures will negotiate these costs based upon the number of units purchased and type of software required.

This system can be utilized by parking enforcement officers patrolling either on foot, on a bicycle or in a vehicle.

A system such as this is currently offered by the Phoenix Group, the vendor of choice currently managing traffic citations for The City of Paso Robles Police Department.

Electronic Tire Chalking
This system is also offered by several manufactures and offers the ability to electronically chalk tires from a moving vehicle at speeds up to 30 mph. The parking enforcement officer patrols in specially equipped vehicles with mounted cameras, a GPS antenna and on board computer.

As the officer drives down the street, the position of the vehicle, the vehicles image, location, time/date and actual license plate number are read and logged into the computer. When the officer returns to the location a second time, the plates will be scanned again and an alarm will notify the officer when it detects a parking violation based on time/location data using the License Plate Recognition (LPR) and Global Positioning System (GPS).

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 32
The approximate cost of this type of system is $55,000 per unit, not including a vehicle.

In addition to the aforementioned equipment options, there are also the typical day-to-day operating needs of a time-restricted program such as:
• Parking enforcement personnel
• Office/Clerical support staff
• Vehicle or bicycles
• Office space – assumed to be housed in an existing city department. • On-street signage
• Office furniture
• Office supplies
• Telephones
• Computers
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 33
SECTION 17
HOW MUCH WILL TIME-REGULATED PARKING COST?
The actual cost for the enforcement of time-regulated parking is a function of budgetary constraints on the City of Paso Robles. Enforcement can be as simple as having an enforcement office patrolling the area on foot or bicycle, chalking tires and hand-writing tickets; or as technically advanced as utilizing a vehicle equipped with License Plate Recognition and Global Positioning capabilities.

Since this is a new program, It is recommended to start somewhere in the middle. A parking enforcement officer should patrol the designated area in a marked parking enforcement vehicle, such as an Interceptor 3-wheeled parking scooter (see page 37). They should utilize hand-held computer technology to electronically chalk vehicle tires as well as issue parking citations.

The Phoenix Group is the current vendor utilized by The City of Paso Robles to manage traffic citations issued by the police department. They also offer the hand-held computer technology and support required to enforce on-street, time-restricted parking and the issuance of parking tickets.

A possible non-financial cost associated with implementing a time-regulated parking system could be political backlash over the changes and perceived inconveniences involved.

Historically, implementing parking enforcement has not proven to be a popular decision for many policy makers and a temporary backlash from constituents may occur. For cities that have determined a need to effectively manage their parking and are new to the concept of parking enforcement, it is a sensitive political subject. The reality is that in today’s economy every city is looking for ways to provide better services to their citizens and a means by which to pay for them.

Parking enforcement, whether it is time-regulated or pay-to-park, is one way to do so. While it’s not generally perceived as a popular method at first, once the general public realizes that the results or income generated is returned to the community in the form of improved services/environment, they come to accept the reality itself. Many cities in California, and across the nation, have faced implementing necessary changes to the ways in which they regulate and utilize their parking resources. If managed correctly, political backlash and constituent complaints can be kept to a minimum, while much needed income can be generated to benefit the community.

It is important that everyone understands that this is not just another way for the city to tax its citizens. Rather this is a necessary, viable solution to maintain a vibrant business core and attractive community. This is what is needed to provide on-going benefits to all visitors, residents and business owners, as well as the city of Paso Robles as a whole.

Table 6 illustrates the estimated operating expenses and net revenues for the recommended time-regulated area.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 34
Table 6
Enforcement Pro Forma
Estimated Revenues: $20.00 per ticket Parking Capacity = 1,590 on-street and off-street spaces On-Street Estimated Parking Citation Revenues
Parking Percentage Turnover Total Cars Citation Citations Rate Collection Estimated Estimated Spaces Occupancy (assumed) per Issued issued per of Monthly Annual day daily Monthly Citation Citations
(assumed) (assumed) (assumed) (assumed) Revenues Revenues 1,590 85% 3 4,055 41 1,026 $20.00 88% $18,054 $216,647
Estimated Gross Revenues: $216,647
Estimated Expenses:

Estimated Operating Expenses Includes Enforcement Salary & Benefits, Collection, Vehicles and Administration Estimated Estimated
Monthly Annual
Expenses Expenses
Cost of Signage (includes additional signs for relacement as necessary). $1,667 $20,000 Cost of Enforcement

1. Salary and benefits based upon 2 Class III FTE's at approximately $84,000 each per year. $14,000 $168,000

2. Enforcement vehicle based upon 2 vehicles @ $36,000 each amortized over 60 months ($72,000 ÷ 60) $1,200 $14,400

3. Vehicle maintenance, gasoline, etc. (estimated at $1,500 per month). $1,500 $18,000

4. Administration salary based upon Class II maximum plus benefits. $6,312 $75,743

5. Handheld computers, software, etc. ($4,800 per unit x 3 units amortized over 12 months). $1,200 $14,400

6. Miscellaneous supplies such as forms, office supplies, etc. $500 $6,000

7. Capital reserve fund for replacement of vehicles and equipment. $1,333 $16,000 Total Operating Expenses $26,045 $332,543
Net Operating Income ($115,896)
Note:

1. Operational month is estimated at 21 weekdays, 4.3 Saturdays. Sundays and Holidays free.

2. Duration of stay is estimated at an average of 3 hours per vehicle.

3. It is assumed that approximately 1% of vehicles parked will over stay the time limit and be cited.

4. Of the total vehicles cited, its assumed that the collection rate will be approximately 88%.

5. Capital reserve fund based on assumed life of 36 months for vehicles & handheld units.

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El Paso de Robles, CA
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SECTION 18
WHAT TECHNOLOGY IS AVAILABLE FOR PARKING ENFORCEMENT?
There are many options for parking enforcement technology available. The following summary outlines several options. Refer to Addendum A for a list of companies that offer an array of enforcement technology options.

Parking Citation Management Systems
These are multi-level services designed to automate the process and control of parking citation revenue. They allow for flexibility of management involvement, accurate tracking, reporting and maximizing revenues.

This system can be utilized by parking enforcement officers patrolling either on foot, on a bicycle or in a vehicle.

Below are some examples of hand-held computers.

Electronic Tire Chalking
These systems are also offered by several manufactures and offer the ability to electronically chalk tires from a moving vehicle at speeds up to 30 mph. The parking enforcement officer patrols in specially equipped vehicle with mounted cameras, a GPS antenna and on board computer.

As the officer drives down the street, the position of the vehicle, the vehicles image, location, time/date and actual plate number are read and logged into the computer. When the officer returns to the location a second time, the plates will be scanned again and an alarm will Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 36
notify the officer when it detects a parking violation based on time/location data using the License Plate Recognition and Global Positioning System.

Below are two examples of electronic tire chalking technologies.

Vehicle Sensors
The sensors are permanently glued to each individual parking space and detect the presence of a vehicle through a magnetic field. This system has the capability to monitor the occupancy of the spaces and notify a central computer when a vehicle has parked past the posted time limit. Upon notification, an enforcement officer can be dispatched to determine if the vehicle has paid for the extended time.

This type of system is typically used in areas where there is a high volume of vehicles parked. It enables the city to utilize a variable rate fee depending upon the demand for parking in the area.

As an example, if the spaces being monitored display minimal activity during weekdays but a high occupancy level on Friday afternoons and Saturdays, rates can be adjusted down during the slow days and increased on those days when increased activity is detected. 3-Wheeled Parking Scooter
The most common vehicle used for parking enforcement patrol is the GO-4 Interceptor III, a three-wheeled motor scooter manufactured by Westward Industries.

It’s by the far the most popular vehicle and provides an efficient vehicle with a safe and comfortable work environment. It has high visibility from front to rear, is equipped with LTI, which alerts the operator if the vehicle is being operated at unsafe speeds around corners or on cross slopes.

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These vehicles are typically fitted with light bars for flashing safety lights to alert traffic of their presence. They can also be fitted with the latest License Plate (LPR) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for parking enforcement.

Below are examples of three-wheeled parking scooters.

Attachment 10
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El Paso de Robles, CA
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SECTION 19
HOW CAN IT BE PAID FOR?
It is assumed that the City of Paso Robles would initially fund the start up of the timeregulated parking program from its general fund. The funds would be repaid to the general fund from parking ticket revenues and the goal would be for the program to become self sufficient. However, most cities that institute a free-parking system with enforcement typically do not generate enough revenue from citations to cover the net operating income and therefore, must use money from the city’s general fund to maintain the parking system.

An estimation based on parking industry standards, and information gathered from similar municipalities, demonstrates that the average number of citations issued daily would be approximately 42, or 1% of the total amount of vehicles parked. This number reflects moderate and not over-aggressive enforcement, which could disenfranchise patrons. In a city such as Paso Robles, where the transition is being made from free, non time-regulated parking to a system of time-regulated parking, the status quo psychology of the parking patrons should be taken in consideration along with the economic realities faced by the municipality and its responsibility to provide efficient parking.

The income generated by enforcement is also dependent on the amount of citations that are processed and collected. Again, an estimation based on parking industry standards, and information gathered from similar municipalities, was used to demonstrate an 88% collection rate for citations. This does not reflect dismissals done during appeals.

As demonstrated in Table 6 on page 34/ Section 17, a system of time-regulated free parking with enforcement does not typically generate the income needed to maintain an effective system and generally operates with a budget deficit that needs to be supplemented with funds from the City’s general fund. In this case, there will be an estimated annual operating shortfall of approximately $116,000. This would need to be supplemented by the City’s general fund.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 39
SECTION 20
HOW SHOULD PARKING BE HANDLED FOR NEW DEVELOPMENT?
In situations where business improvement is desired but building the required parking for it is impractical, difficult, impossible, or undesirable from a development character standpoint, an In-Lieu-of-Fee Program is a viable alternative. Typically, in this program a business owner or developer pays the local municipality what amounts to an impact fee instead of building or providing all, or a portion of the required parking. The city or local municipality then uses the collected fees to build or provide the parking necessary to keep the business district viable.

According to Dr. Donald Shoup’s In Lieu of Required Parking, some of the advantages of Inlieu fees are listed below for both cities and developers. These advantages are based on responses from officials of various surveyed cities1
.

1. A new option. In-lieu fees give developers an alternative to meeting the parking requirements on sites where providing all the required parking spaces would be difficult, not in the communities’ best interest or extremely expensive.

2. Shared parking. Public parking spaces allow shared use among different sites where the peak parking demands occur at different times. Shared public parking is more efficient than single-use private parking because fewer spaces are needed to meet the total peak parking demand. Shared parking also allows visitors to leave their cars parked while making multiple trips on foot, and is one of the easiest ways to make better use of scarce urban land.

3. Better urban design. Cities can put public parking lots and structures where they have the lowest impact on vehicle and pedestrian circulation. Less on-site parking allows continuous storefronts without "dead" gaps for adjacent surface parking lots.

To improve the streetscape, some cities dedicate the first floor of the public parking structures to retail uses. Developers can undertake infill projects without assembling large sites to accommodate on-site parking, and architects have greater freedom to design better buildings.

4. Fewer variances. Developers often request parking variances when providing the required parking would be difficult. These variances create unearned economic windfalls, granted to some but denied to others. If developers can pay cash rather than provide the required parking, cities do not have to grant parking variances and can therefore treat all developers consistently.

5. Historic preservation. In-lieu fees allow adaptive reuse of historic buildings where the new use requires additional parking that is difficult to provide. The in-lieu policy therefore makes it easier to preserve historic buildings and rehabilitate historic areas.

1 In Lieu of Required Parking, Journal of Planning Education and Research 18:307-320, © 1999 Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning
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Also from In Lieu of Required Parking, officials in all the surveyed cities recommended in-lieu fees, but some reported that developers were at first skeptical of them. The following four points summarize the potential disadvantages mentioned by developers:

1. Lack of on-site parking. Parking is a valuable asset for any development. A lack of on-site, owner-controlled parking can reduce a development's attractiveness to tenants and customers. While a lack of on-site parking is a real disadvantage, developers who are concerned about this problem can always provide the parking rather than pay the fee.

2. High fees. Cities may not construct and operate parking facilities as efficiently as the private sector. For example, cities may pay extra to improve the architectural design of parking lots and structures. The resulting in-lieu fees may be high. Although some cities charge high in-lieu fees, most set their in-lieu fees lower than the cost of providing a public parking space. Because the fixed cost for ramps, elevators, stairwells, and curb cuts can be spread among more spaces in large public parking structures, economies of scale in building these structures can further reduce the inlieu fees.

3. No guarantees. Cities may intend to use the in-lieu fee revenue to finance public parking, but they do not guarantee when or where the parking spaces will be provided. To address this concern, some cities build public parking structures before receiving the in-lieu fees. The in-lieu fees are then used to retire the debt incurred to finance the structures. Other cities return the in-lieu fees if they do not provide the parking within a certain time. A city can also delay collecting the in-lieu fees until the revenue is needed to construct the public parking.

4. Fewer parking spaces. In-lieu fees will reduce the parking supply if cities provide less than one public parking space for each in-lieu fee paid. A smaller parking supply can put an area at a competitive disadvantage. However, when applied in an area where demand-based pricing is present, a reduced supply may not be a concern. Cities may not provide one public parking space for each in-lieu fee paid, but if a city uses in-lieu fees to build public parking spaces rather than grant variances to reduce parking requirements, the in-lieu policy will increase rather than decrease the parking supply. Even if an in-lieu policy does reduce the parking supply, shared public parking reduces the parking supply needed to meet the sum of all individual peak parking demands.

As indicated by the advantages above, much of the comments and concerns relate directly to Paso Robles. The City of Paso Robles initially set the in-lieu fee at $3,000 per space. The fee was raised to $4,640 effective January 1, 2008 and will be increased by $1,500 (plus CPI) annually through 2015.

The Council consciously set the fee far below the market value of constructing a parking space. Typical per space costs for structured above-grade, free-standing parking ranges from $20,000 to $35,000 (not including land acquisition costs) per space depending on the type of construction. Downtown parking in Paso Robles would be higher when the cost of acquiring the land (downtown property is most expensive in Paso Robles), demolition, siteAttachment 10 Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 41
cleaning and relocation is incorporated. The overall cost for constructing parking spaces in Paso Robles could be approximately as high as $78,000 per structured space and $45,000 per surface space. While it is not recommended to charge this fee, it is recommended that the existing In-Lieu-of-Fee Program be re-evaluated and the fees charged should be increased to better reflect the actual costs associated with increasing the parking supply.

An important issue facing historic or tourism-oriented cities, such as Paso Robles, is the possibility of loosing its charm and aesthetic appeal by developers incorporating parking into their projects and constructing a series of non-pedestrian oriented strip malls. If the in-lieuof-fee is too high, then developers may choose to build parking as part of their building site, which would limit the amount of rentable, economy-enhancing businesses and distract from the pedestrian-oriented old town charm that Paso Robles strives to maintain. In addition, if the fees are too high, the developer may choose to relocate to another part of town, or out of town all together. Establishing the right in-lieu-of-parking-fee is a challenge faced by all municipalities. Each city has its own unique blend of factors which directly affect the fees that are charged.

The reevaluation of the existing In-Lieu-of-Fee Program could be a viable alternative in allowing Paso Robles to provide for continued business development while at the same time maintaining adequate parking for the visitors to the area.

Table 7 is a list of California cities and their respective 2007 in-lieu of parking fees.

City Fee
Davis $4,000
Beverly Hills $26,000
Monterey $8,424
Carmel $23,000
Napa $7,500
Ventura $22,335
Arroyo Grande $24,000
Grover Beach $15,000
Pismo Beach $36,000
San Luis Obispo $12,767
Paso Robles $4,500
California City In Lieu of Fees
Table 7
As Downtown Paso Robles continues to grow and prosper, the in-lieu parking fees could help offset the cost of increasing the parking supply that will be needed to accommodate future development.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 42
SECTION 21
HOW DO PATRONS FIND THEIR WAY AROUND PASO ROBLES?
The current wayfinding and signage package is adequate in directing visitors, employees and residents to public parking. Signage and wayfinding systems located in the public right-ofway are effective in directing customers to the parking supply. This reduces customer confusion and the number of people who are cruising for parking spaces. If additional parking is developed, the City should implement directional signage to direct visitors to offstreet locations. Some visitors and patrons may be happy to walk or stroll from their parking space to their destination. This experience will be enhanced with adequate signage directing them to available parking.

It is recommended that the City:

1. Maintain the current wayfinding and signage package that incorporates a uniform design, logo, and color scheme into all informational signage related to parking.

2. Evaluate land-use and code implications of the wayfinding and signage package program particularly size, design and placement issues, and initiate changes as appropriate.

3. “Brand” each off-street public facility, open to public access, with the established logo package.

Advanced technology wayfinding equipment is on the market which could guide the parking patron to available spaces throughout the downtown area. This would require installing sensors to indicate where spaces are available. These sensors send a message to an automated signage system which alerts the patron to the location of the parking space. This system is often used in high-end shopping malls, airports and office buildings. However, this type of equipment is very costly to purchase, install and maintain.

A well designed map should be developed that shows the short- and long-term parking available to visitors, residents and employees, as well as ingress and egress points. The map should be consistent with the policies of the Parking Management Plan and maintain the look, logo and design of the signage program. It should be made available in print and on the internet.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 43
SECTION 22
HOW DO WE EDUCATE THE PUBLIC?
A public awareness/education campaign should be developed to inform the various parking user groups about the changes and modifications to the existing parking conditions and eminent implementation of the new Parking Management Plan. The campaign should include marketing time-regulated parking to visitors and customers, as well as the possible future residential parking program to local residents. In addition, business owners and employees must be made aware of the changes that will affect their current parking behavior.

The success of the Parking Management Plan implementation lies in proper marketing and education.

Parking matters should maintain a constant profile around Downtown Paso Robles. Parking marketing should be included in all local and community publications, such as church newsletters and local newspapers. Flyers could be distributed to local shops and residents outlining the changes and advantages of the new Parking Management Plan.

A specific merchant-education campaign should be developed to convey that there is a better/higher use for the prime parking spaces that they/their employees presently use.

A comprehensive website for Paso Robles parking should be developed or modified to provide information on parking to the various users. Such issues as parking location, permits, pricing policies (if necessary), and directions could be easily conveyed to a wide audience. As technology improves, the website could one day alert parkers to the location and availability of parking.

The new parking signage, logo and look should be incorporated into all marketing/educational material and the website to ensure a comprehensive feeling of cohesion with the Parking Management Plan and its goals.

In addition, a Costumer Service Hotline could be established in order to help parking patrons understand the new system and make the transition from free to pay-parking, if that system were to be implemented. This could provide information about general parking concerns, fees, the residential permit program, parking space locations, and general information about Paso Robles.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 44
SECTION 23
WHERE CAN THE RESIDENTS PARK?
With the implementation of a time-regulated parking system in Zone IV and an increase in development, it is possible that the overflow parking of employees and business owners may increase the parking demand in the surrounding residential neighborhoods. Information provided on utilization in the 2002 Kimley-Horn Downtown Parking and Circulation Analysis and Action Plan demonstrated that currently the surrounding neighborhoods could accommodate the increased demand generated.

In the future, if a parking deficiency is perceived in the surrounding neighborhoods and the parking behavior of residents is heavily impacted, a Resident Parking Permit program could be further examined and implemented.

A Residential Parking Permit Program is designed to restrict parking on designated residential streets during specified hours, except for the residents of that street or guests of the residents. It is intended for residential areas that are severely impacted by all-day commuter or employee parking generated by nearby businesses. This program helps to ensure that residents of densely populated areas have reasonable access to parking near their residences. The program does not guarantee residents specific on-street parking, rather it allows them to park there if a space is available. Cars parked in violation of this ordinance will be ticketed by parking enforcement officers.

There are two possible Residential Permit programs that could be implemented.

1. Signage (2-hour limit from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for example)

2. Permits (as described below)
Parking prohibitions under such a residential permit parking program are achieved by installing regulatory signs that display the applicable restrictions. The signs are installed upon the passage of an ordinance which specifies the street(s) where the parking restrictions apply. Yearly residential parking permits can be available to qualified residents. Daily guest passes can be purchased and distributed by qualified residents.

Each permit holder is given a vehicle decal that is issued to a specific vehicle. It is affixed to the rear bumper or outside the rear windshield. When properly displayed, a Residential Parking Permit will exempt a vehicle from time-regulated parking limitations in that area. This permit is valid only when displayed within the same block as the address noted on the placard.

Residents, non-resident property owners, and commercial property tenants may obtain twoweek temporary permits throughout the year (limit two (2) per year). Each permit is issued to a specific vehicle or to the qualifying address.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 45
Enforcement for Residential Parking Permits will be provided by parking enforcement officers and/or the police department. It will be conducted Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. throughout the entire year except City observed Holidays.

Residential parking in heavily commercial, tourist or downtown areas with limited amounts of public parking is a very complex and often controversial issue that requires thorough examination. There is no quick-fix solution to this common condition that often sets residents and business owners at odds. Each must acknowledge the needs of the others and work together to help the community thrive and prosper. Business owners must actively promote alternative forms of transportation and remote-location parking to their employees who tend to park in the core business activity zone and the surrounding residential areas, and residents need to acknowledge the realistic limitations to parking associated with living in a downtown, tourist and commercial area. A residential parking permit program is a viable tool to help alleviate the parking conditions, but ultimately the parking behavior of the residents, employers and employees will need to be modified in order for this strategy to produce results.

Exhibit 8 illustrates the location of Residential Permit Zones.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 46
Exhibit 8
Possible Residential Parking Zones
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 47
SECTION 24
WHAT IS ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE TO IMPROVE THE PARKING CONDITIONS? Public parking is one of a downtown’s most important assets. The parking supply can impact the success of downtown businesses, influence potential developers and new businesses decisions to locate in downtown, impact the amount of traffic, influence customer behavior and provide a revenue source to support development of future parking supply.

One common means to help a city meet the challenges of managing their parking assets is the implementation of a pay-to-park system. Pay-to-park means that motorists pay directly for the use of a parking space. Many cities are unable to generate the revenue needed to maintain an adequate enforcement program by implementing time-regulated parking alone, and as a result, turn to pay-to-park strategies. These strategies can be implemented as a means to influence parking behavior; reduce vehicular traffic, overall congestion and emissions; to recover costs associated with parking; and generate revenue for other parkingrelated purposes.

As part of the Parking Management Plan, Parking Design Group was requested to assess the cost associated with implementing a pay-to-park system in the downtown area. It is important to consider a coordinated strategy for how demand-based parking pricing would be implemented as the demand for parking and new parking supply evolves. Rates for on-street parking can have an impact on customer use and perception of an area. Nationally, onstreet meter rates for short-term parking generally range from as low as $.25 per hour to as much as $2.50 per hour; or higher, depending on the location/demand.

On-street, proximate parking offers a high level of convenience for the customer. The fees charged for on-street parking in most cities are well below the market rate for parking offered in off-street facilities. Traditionally, off-street prices are considerably higher, when in reality the on-street spaces represent a higher value in terms of convenience. As a result, parkers who do not wish to pay the higher off-street rate cruise the streets looking for cheaper parking options, which adds to the congestion and traffic, while polluting the environment.

For effective management of the Downtown Paso Robles parking supply, it is recommended to start the rate structure for on-street and off-street parking at all pay-and-display machines throughout Zone IV at $1.25 an hour, for the first three- to six-month trial period. A relatively low initial parking fee is recommended as a means to successfully transition parkers, who are accustomed to unlimited free parking, into the new pay-for-parking model.

Once area parkers become accustomed to the new model, demand-based pricing policies should be examined to better manage the parking supply. Such policies could include:
• Implementing variable rates that are higher for prime locations and peak times. • Charging rates higher at the more convenient parking spaces around the City Park, in order to favor priority users and increase turnover.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 48
• Charging higher rates at certain peak periods through out the day on all pay-anddisplay machines. • Using a progressive price structure to favor short-term users. For example, charge $1.25 for the first hour, $1.50 for the second hour, and $1.75 for each subsequent hour. This results in good utilization of spaces while also providing adequate available parking.
• Using demand-based parking pricing to ensure that 15% of parking spaces are available during peak periods.
• Adjusting parking times from hour to minute increments as necessary to increase revenue and turnover.

Comprehensive, demand-based parking rates will:

A. Facilitate more efficient turnover.

B. Encourage the use of specific facilities in specific zones (i.e., short-term vs. long-term employee and resident parking).

C. Encourage the use of alternative transportation modes.

D. Provide a funding source for new supply and alternative mode options.

E. Reduce automobile use and congestion.

The net revenue from parking can serve as a valuable resource to fund neighborhood and parking improvements in and around Downtown Paso Robles. These funds can be used in a variety of ways, including the creation of new parking spaces and parking facilities, parking wayfinding signs, informational materials, and sidewalk improvements, improved security/enforcement, etc.

The use of traditional parking meters is not recommended. Two options for pay-to-park machines are recommended:
• Pay-and-Display Multi-Space Machines
• Pay-per-Space Multi-Space Machines
Pay-and-Display Multi-Space Machines
With this type of device, parkers prepay at a pay-and-display machine, which produces a time-stamped ticket that is displayed in the vehicle window or dashboard. One printer can serve up to 75 off-street spaces, or about a dozen on-street spaces (to minimize walking distances). Pay stations need to be close to the parking spaces, usually within 100 feet, and sufficient in number to handle peak demand. More pay stations are needed for parking lots with many vehicles arriving at the same time.

Coin-operated pay stations are relatively inexpensive, but are inconvenient to users because they require specific coins. Pay stations that also accept bills and credit cards are more Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 49
expensive, but more convenient. Costs for these machines include pay stations, maintenance and repairs, revenue collection, and enforcement.

These electronic machines can be programmed for variable rates for peak and off-peak times, and can use variable fees with higher rates during peak periods and lower rates during off-peak periods. Again, the most convenient parking spaces should be priced to maintain occupancy averages about 85-90%.

Pay-Per-Space Multi-Space Machines
With this option, a patron prepays an electronic meter for a particular parking space. Each space is numbered and enforcement officers download reports indicating which spaces are paid for. One meter can serve up to 75 off-street spaces, or about a dozen on-street spaces.

The meters need to be within 100 feet of the parking spaces and sufficient to handle peak demand. Transactions can take up to one minute, so lines can develop if several motorists arrive at the same time. More sophisticated systems allow patrons to pay for additional time by credit or debit card at locations a distance away from where they parked or via the internet or telephone messaging. These machines accept coins, bills, credit cards or prepaid cards.

Costs for these machines include pay stations, maintenance and repairs, revenue collection, and enforcement. Variable rates are easy to program. This type of machine is more expensive than pay-and-display machines.

Both systems have some common disadvantages. Initially they can be confusing or inconvenient for parkers to use. Also if a machine malfunctions or breaks down, all of the spaces associated with that machine are affected. In addition, counterfeit receipts could be created with relative ease with current software and computers.

Validation programs are very common in retail-oriented areas, and this option should be further examined if a pay-to-park strategy is implemented.

All of these payment methods can be very user/operator friendly because they:
• Allow for payment by cash, credit card, debit card and smart cards, thereby increasing customer payment options
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 50
• Provide a range of programming features (e.g., variable rates by time of day or day of week, downtown event/retail/business communications, directional information) • Provide opportunities for co-promotion/advertising (e.g. use of receipts for advertising)
• Improve the pedestrian environment given the need for less “equipment” in the public right of way
• Provide data reporting and utilization information
• Tend to be more vandal-resistant than single meters
• Reduce opportunities to ‘jam’ meters
• Reduce overall equipment capital outlays, maintenance costs and manpower staffing needs
Parking Zone IV is considered the main activity zone of Downtown Paso Robles and includes the highest density of development with a high concentration of restaurant and retail activity.

The area is generally bounded by 14th Street to the north, Riverside to the east, 10th Street to the South and Vine Street to the west. This is the area immediately adjacent to the City Park and City Hall as well as Paso Robles Inn. The primary purpose of parking in this zone is to serve Paso Robles patronage and other short-term visitor needs and support and enhance the vitality of the retail core. Parking for short-term users is the priority for on-street and off-street spaces. Current inventory consists of 764 on-street spaces and 167 off-street spaces for a total of 931 spaces.

The objective of converting to pay parking would be to achieve 10% to 15% availability of parking spaces to ensure ready accessibility close to a visitor’s destination. The price for onstreet parking should be set at the lowest possible level sufficient to produce the desired parking availability of 10% to 15%. Paid parking would be subject to appropriate time limits, which may vary by location and would be designed to stimulate turnover and to discourage all-day street parking.

It is anticipated that approximately 410 on-street and 92 off-street spaces (total 502 spaces) could be converted to pay-and-display spaces. The pay-and-display receipt is displayed by attaching it to the inside of the driver’s side window or on the dashboard. This would make it easily readable by parking enforcement personnel. The receipt displays the amount of time purchased by the customer.

The receipt could be transferable anywhere within Zone IV where pay and display is used, as long as there was still time remaining on the receipt.

It is recommended that the time limit for Downtown Paso Robles be two or three hours for on-street paid parking spaces within Parking Zone IV. This would allow adequate time for people to visit the shops and restaurants. The hours of enforcement should be 8am to 6pm, Monday thru Saturday, with Sundays and Holidays free.

All things being consistent, it is anticipated that there would be a turnover ratio of 3.3 turnovers per space, per day. This is based upon a 3-hour time period restriction and a 10- hour day (10 hrs ÷ 3).

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 51
In order to achieve the desired parking availability of 10% to 15%, it is recommended to start the program for on-street parking at $1.25 per hour and review the results in 90 days. If the desired availability is achieved, then this rate is sufficient. If the desired level of availability is not achieved, then it is recommended that the rate be adjusted until the appropriate rate is found that will result in the desired 10% to 15% availability rate. Parking occupancy and rate reviews should be conducted periodically (preferably every 90 days) to ensure the desired occupancy level of availability is maintained.

The following table show the estimated parking revenues for both weekdays and weekends.

It also shows the estimated expenses associated with the day-to-day operations of the onstreet parking spaces. Table 8 demonstrates an 85% occupancy rate, which is a projection based on a desired 85% occupancy at any given time for on-street parking spaces. This correlates with the Don Shoup philosophy of maintaining a 15% availability rate, which would be a valid goal for this parking management plan.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 52
Table 8
Estimated Revenue – On-Street Parking
Estimated Revenues: ($1.25/hour) Parking Capacity = 502 spaces Table A
On-Street Estimated Parking Revenues - Parking Zone IV - Weekday Parking Percentage Turnover Total Cars Duration Total Rate Estimated Estimated Estimated Spaces Occupancy (assumed) per day Stay Hours per hour Daily Monthly Annual (assumed) (assumed) (assumed) Revenues Revenues Revenues 502 85% 3.3 1,408 3 4,224 $1.25 $5,280 $110,889 $1,330,664 On-Street Estimated Parking Revenues - Parking Zone IV - Weekend Parking Percentage Turnover Total Cars Duration Total Rate Estimated Estimated Estimated Spaces Occupancy (assumed) per day Stay Hours per hour Daily Monthly Annual (assumed) (assumed) (assumed) Revenues Revenues Revenues 502 85% 3.3 1,408 3 4,224 $1.25 $5,280 $22,706 $272,469 Estimated Gross Revenues: $1,603,133
Estimated Expenses:

Estimated Operating Expenses Includes Enforcement Salary & Benefits, Collection, Vehicles and Administration Number of Pay & Display Machines Installed: 50 Estimated Estimated Monthly Annual
Expenses Expenses
Cost of Equipment

1. Estimated at $10,000 per machine amortized over 60 months ($500,000 ÷ 60) $8,333 $100,000 Cost of Enforcement

1. Salary and benefits based upon 2 Class III FTE's at approximately $84,000 each per year. $14,000 $168,000

2. Enforcement vehicle based upon 2 vehicles @ $36,000 each amortized over 60 months ($72,000 ÷ 60) $1,200 $14,400

3. Vehicle maintenance, gasoline, etc. (estimated at $1,500 per month). $1,500 $18,000

4. Administration salary based upon Class II maximum plus benefits.. $6,312 $75,743

5. Handheld computers, software, etc. ($4,800 per unit x 3 units amortized over 12 months). $1,200 $14,400

6. Miscellaneous supplies such as forms, office supplies, etc. $500 $6,000

7. Capitol reserve fund for replacement/maintenance of vehicles and equipment $8,333 $100,000 Total Operating Expenses $41,379 $496,543
Net Operating Income $1,106,590
Note:

1. Operational month is estimated at 21 weekdays, 4.3 Saturdays. Sundays and Holidays free.

2. Duration of stay is estimated at an average of 3 hours per vehicle.

3. Total of 50 machines is an estimate only. Equipment vendor would determine actual placement and number of machines based on number of spaces to be serviced on each city block

4. Capitol reserve fund based on assumed life of 36 months for vehicles, handheld units, pay & display machines.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 53
Specific locations of the machines would require additional examination, and would ultimately be determined between the Paso Robles City Council and the vendor who would install the machines if the system were implemented.

As is illustrated in Table 8, a pay-to-park system could produce the revenue needed to be financially self sufficient while also creating a monetary surplus. The estimated $1.1 million net operating income could be appropriated for a variety of programs that would benefit the Paso Robles downtown community and its patrons. Many cities contribute a percentage of their annual revenues from their parking systems to increase the parking supply, implement downtown beautification projects, or add additional safety/security features. These projects benefit the business owners, the community and the patrons alike.

Angled Parking in Downtown Paso Robles
Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 54
SECTION 25
WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN?
In order to successfully implement and experience ongoing success with the Parking Management Plan, certain events and milestones must occur. Funding this program is a critical component of the Parking Management Plan. As has been demonstrated in this document, a time-regulated parking management plan will ultimately operate in the “red”, or at a financial loss. To offset the costs associated with parking enforcement, a pay-to-park system would be required.

After careful consideration and research, the following implementation steps are recommended to occur in chronological order. If it is determined that a pay-to-park system is preferred, this implementation plan will need to be modified to incorporate the specific needs of that system.

Downtown Paso Robles Management Plan Implementation Agenda

1. Evaluation and discussion by the Paso Robles City Council as to the findings and recommendations of this Parking Management Plan, especially as they pertain to funding the parking management strategies. Contrast and compare a time-regulated system vs. a pay-to-park system.

2. Approval of Parking Management Plan by Paso Robles City Council

3. Prepare Request for Proposal (RFP) for enforcement equipment

4. Interview, hire and train staff (enforcement officers and administration)

5. Order signs

6. Conduct marketing campaign to educate community

7. Conduct public forum to address public concerns

8. Install signs

9. Enforcement begins with 30- to 60-day warning period

10. Enforcement begins with citations issued to violators

11. Evaluation of Parking Management Plan every six months to determine adequacy of fines/enforcement

12. Adjust fines/enforcement accordingly per six-month evaluations Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 55
Note:

The projections presented above are to be considered best estimates only, based on current local parking conditions, and related to assumptions and information currently available. It is assumed that the daily parking activity and occupancy levels will remain as observed on-site.

As many factors influence the success of any business and local/regional/national economies, Parking Design Group makes no guarantees as to the actual revenues and expenses that will be associated with the parking systems described in this Parking Management Plan. In addition, Parking Design Group cannot be held accountable for any use of this information for anything more than reference and estimating. This Parking Management Plan is merely a tool to be used by Paso Robles as a guide to properly manage its parking supply.

Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 56

ADDENDUM A
The following is a list of companies that offer hand-held enforcement computers, inventory computers and enforcement technology.

Company Description
AIMS – Electronic Data
Collection Corp.
13 Dwight Park Drive
Syracuse, NY 13209
315-706-0310 - Fax 315-706-
0330
Toll-Free 800-886-6316
http://www.edc-aim.com

CHOOSE AIMS FOR A BETTER SOLUTION
The AIMS Ticketer is the most technologically advanced
and user friendly ticket writing computer on the market today. The integrated imager allows for multiple pictures to be attached with the ticket as well as barcode reading.

Onboard 802.11b and Bluetooth as well as optional
GSM/GPRS radios provide real-time communication and
ticket printing. Use with AIMS, AIS or Parking101
applications. Please visit our web site for more
information.

Cardinal Tracking, Inc.
1825 Lakeway Drive
Suite 100
Lewisville, TX 75057
Fax 972-539-8914
Toll-Free 800-285-3833
http://www.cardinaltracking.com
TICKETRAK™ POCKET PC FIELD UNIT
Cardinal pioneered the use of touch-screen handheld
computers for issuing parking tickets in 1985. No one
has more experience in providing easy-to-use and
reliable handheld software for parking enforcement. We
offer both one-piece handhelds with integrated printer
and two piece wireless solutions. TickeTrak™ certified
handhelds include the TDS Recon, Symbol 8800,
Symbol MC50, Symbol MC70 and Casio IT-3000.

Citation issuance couldn’t be easier and includes
automated scofflaw lookup, multiple violations per
citation, and our advanced communications software
that makes uploading and downloading the devices a
breeze!
Clancy Systems International,
Inc.
2250 S. Oneida #308
Denver, CO 80224
303-753-0197 – Fax 303-759-
http://www.clancysystems.com/

COMPUTERIZED PARKING CITATION ISSUANCE

AND PROCESSING
Clancy Systems International, Inc., provides the ultimate solution to computerized parking citation issuance and
processing. The system is Windows compatible and
year 2000 compliant. The system integrates the most
current technology including digital imaging, telephone interface and data base export to other software
products. In addition to ticket issuance we offer survey systems, honor box systems, and meter management.

Complus Data Innovations, Inc.
560 White Plains Road
Tarrytown, NY 10591
914-747-1200 - Fax 914-747-
1798
Toll-Free 800-331-8802

PARKING TICKET MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
Complus Data Innovations, Inc. is a full-service Parking Ticket Management Specialist. At no up front cost,
Complus will provide you with state-of-the-art hardware and software to help manage the process, including
Handheld Ticketwriters. Also included: On-site training, Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 57
http://www.complusdata.com/ delinquent noticing, nationwide DMV lookups, webbased payments, guaranteed 36 month equipment replacement policy, and personalized 24/7 service and
support. Powered by our FastTrack™ software, the
Complus program is designed to increase your collection rate and minimize expenses. Complus clients achieve
collection rates as high as 96%.

Duncan Solutions, Inc.
633 W. Wisconsin Avenue
Suite 1600
Milwaukee, WI 53203
414-847-3779 - Fax 414-847-
6779
http://www.duncansolutions.com/

THE STANDARD FOR HANDHELD CITATION

ISSUANCE COMPUTERS
AutoCITE™ X3 issues citations quickly and easily,
requiring a fraction of the time needed to handwrite
tickets. Portable, one-piece and with an integrated
thermal printer, the AutoCITE is lightweight, but rugged.

Used by more than 400 agencies worldwide, more
citations are issued with AutoCITE than with any other
handheld on the market. Duncan Solutions is the only
company that designs, manufactures and maintains
AutoCITE and its system software.

EZ Tag Corporation
334 Cornelia Street #549
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Fax 866-308-4315
Toll-Free 866-308-2430
http://www.eztag1.com

CITATION ISSUANCE & MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
EZTag’s mobile enforcement solution is a proven
wireless parking enforcement citation issuing and
management system. We are your single point of
contact for - enterprise software, hardware, real-time
communications, training, and support services. As a
leader in mobile enforcement solutions, we have
extensive experience working with customers to create
systems that deliver business value. Contact us to see
how your organization can take advantage of the latest
mobile computing innovations.

ParkSmart Inc.
6500 Gottardo Court
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Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 58
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Attachment 10
Downtown Parking Management Plan
El Paso de Robles, CA
March 1, 2008 59
READER’S NOTES
Attachment 10
City of Paso Robles
Summary of Downtown Parking Studies
I. DOWNTOWN PARKING AND CIRCULATION ANALYSIS – SEPTEMBER 2002 In the fall of 2001, the City Council retained the services of Kimley-Horn and Associates to prepare an independent study reviewing parking and circulation in the Downtown. The resultant Downtown Parking and Circulation Analysis examined the existing parking and traffic conditions in the Downtown core of Paso Robles. The study encompassed the area bounded by 17th Street on the north, Riverside Avenue on the east, 6th Street on the south, and Olive Street on the west.

The study identified existing and future parking demands in the downtown, areas for new parking lots, and ways to divert through traffic from the downtown (in order to eliminate the need to widen Spring Street and 13th Street to 4-lanes), and financing options for implementing the recommended action plan.

The Action Plan provided a series of actions to address parking and circulation needs of Downtown Paso Robles, including:
• Time parking zones
• Enforced parking restrictions via ‘pay for parking’
• Building facilities to increase supply
During spring, summer, and fall of 2002, the City:

Held a Public Workshop to receive input and suggestions on the study. Circulated the Draft study to the City’s ad-hoc Parking and Circulation Committee for review and comment, as well as development of recommendations regarding establishment of an action plan. Held public hearings and a public workshop to discuss the findings of the study and to develop an action plan. Adopted an action plan for addressing the short, medium, and long-range parking needs of Downtown and identifying ways to respond to traffic increases without widening Spring Street or otherwise negatively affecting the Downtown.

ACTION PLAN OVERVIEW
At its October 29, 2002 meeting, the City Council approved specific components of the recommended Downtown Parking and Circulation Action Plan.

The Action Plan included:
• Angled parking,
• Signage, and
• Public information.

With approval of the Action Plan, the City Council further directed staff to prepare a budget proposal for consideration during upcoming budget cycles; considering the following items:
• Increasing the supply of new parking spaces in the downtown core area; • Researching the components of a shuttle service between either the transit center or Robbins field; and
• Directing the City Manager to contact the Fair to see if the City can use their parking facilities.

INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS OF CITY'S ACTION PLAN
Short-Term (2002-2005) current/projected demand for 100 spaces.

Do one of the following:
• Rely on business owners to control the parking of their employees, thereby freeing up additional on and off-street parking spaces for customers, for a three-year period (ending December 31, 2005).

Prior to the close of the three year period, review the potential need for time restricted parking; or Agenda Item No. 14 Page 167 CC Agenda 3-6-18
www.prcity.com/government/citycouncil/agenda-items/2018/03-March/2018_03-06_cc_itm_14.pdf Attachment 11
• Direct staff to prepare a FY 03-04 budget proposal to enforce parking time limits. The time limits would restrict parking between 10 AM and 2 PM weekdays and would apply to areas identified in the Kimley-Horn study:
i. No time limits in public parking lots at 12th & Railroad, Spring between 12th and 13th, and south of City Hall, and along 11th Street and outside of the core area institute time limits as defined below in ii, iii, iv.
ii. A time limit of 4 hours on Spring and Pine Streets south of 12th. iii. A time limit of 2 hours on Park & Pine Streets, from 12th to 14th Streets, and in the parking lot east of Marv’s Pizza.
iv. A time limit of 4 hours on 12th, 13th, and 14th Streets. v. When development occurs at the NE and SE corners of 4th and Spring Streets, propose a budget for modifying lane configurations to channel a lane of traffic east on 4th Street and north on Pine Street.

Mid-Term (2006-2009); projected demand for 350 additional spaces:

Reevaluate the need for time-restricted parking. Consider whether to extend the favorable parking ratio for new development in the downtown area. Budget for acquisition and design of a facility to expand the number of off-street parking spaces within Area IV (as defined in the Kimley-Horn report). The location of the additional off-street parking would be based on opportunity for purchase of land. Property would be improved for surface level parking as an interim measure, with future structured parking as a long-range plan.

Once the 13th Street bridge project is complete, as a trial measure, close off 13th Street for a two-week period in the block between Railroad and Park Streets, installing traffic counting devices elsewhere to determine the patterns of traffic that result from the change. This trial would include installing directional signs at 10th and 16th Streets, designed to channel traffic to Riverside and Creston Roads. Depending upon the outcome of the trial (measured in terms of reasonable success in redirecting traffic), consider the budget for a permanent barrier.

Encourage Main Street to work with downtown merchants to formulate and implement programs that provide incentives for employees to park outside of the downtown core area. (To the extent that these programs are successful, it may not be necessary to pursue less attractive and more expensive measures to free up customer parking in the downtown core area.)
Long-Term (2010 and beyond); projected demand for 550 more spaces:

Reevaluate the need for time-restricted parking. Consider whether to further extend the favorable parking ratio for new development in the downtown area. Design and construct one or more multi-level parking lots to service Area IV as defined by the Kimley-Horn Report.

Plan for and implement measures to direct Spring Street traffic east to the Riverside Avenue corridor, based on a new rail underpass or overpass being constructed at 4th and Pine / Riverside.

STUDY FINDINGS
Supply - There are approximately 2,968 public parking spaces downtown. The number of parking spaces is sufficient to meet the current customer and employee demand. However, these spaces are located throughout downtown and not in areas where demand is highest.

Location - The study demonstrates that there are enough parking spaces downtown to meet demand.

However, many of the parking spaces are not located in areas where people want to park.

In the commercial core, there is an existing deficit of approximately 161 parking spaces. The core is bounded by 13th and 14th Streets on the north, Riverside Street on the east, 10th Street on the south, and Vine Street on the west.

Agenda Item No. 14 Page 168 CC Agenda 3-6-18 Attachment 11 Demand - Parking demand varies significantly by time-of-day and day-of-the-week. The average demand for on-street parking is the highest in the commercial core, most notably in the area around City Park. Public parking lots with the highest average demand on weekdays are the Spring Street lot, the Railroad Street lot, and the 12th Street lot. The public lots are typically 60% full on weekdays, with occupancy decreasing on the weekends. Weekday demand tends to decrease after 6 pm, except near restaurants and the movie theatre.

Circulation
Planned Improvements - The Circulation Element of the Paso Robles General Plan identifies the need to widen Spring Street and 13th Street to 4-lanes. Widening these roadways would accommodate traffic projections associated with future development throughout the City.

Alternatives - There are alternatives to widening Spring and 13th Streets. One alternative is to divert traffic that uses these streets to other roads in the downtown that have excess capacity. A proportion of traffic (perhaps as much as one-third) using Spring Street and/or 13th Street is passing through downtown in route to other areas. Diversion of the downtown core through traffic will reduce traffic volume on Spring Street and/or 13th Street and may eliminate the need for widening.

NEXT STEPS
Implementation
The approved Action Plan involves a multi-faceted approach to addressing the downtown parking and circulation needs.

A budget for implementation of the Action Plan will be developed and released for public review and comment as part of the next budget cycle (Fiscal Year 2003/2004).

II. DOWNTOWN PARKING MANAGEMENT PLAN – MARCH 2008
On May 30, 2007, the City Council directed staff to explore the feasibility and cost of establishing timerestricted zones downtown as a way to manage public parking supply. The City retained the services of Parking Design Group PDG to assist in this effort. The City released the report for public review on March 3, 2008.

The City commissioned Parking Design Group to develop a downtown Parking Management Plan in order to ensure adequate parking supply for the community, businesses, and patrons. This study determined that downtown does not have a lack of parking spaces; therefore, this Plan did not include a recommendation to increase parking spaces. The study determined the perceived parking congestion was attributable to a lack of turnover in these spaces.

The study focused on ensuring an adequate supply of parking during peak periods of demand. The City also Council asked Parking Design Group to explore the feasibility and cost of implementing a time-regulated parking system in the downtown as a tool to ensure an adequate supply of convenient parking for customers and visitors. The study determined that downtown employees, instead of patrons, were using prime parking spaces. This creates an illusion to visitors that there are not enough parking spaces. It also adds to the amount of congestion on city streets.

Short-term parking for patrons, from two to three hours, should be located nearest to restaurants, retail, and service-oriented businesses. Employees should park in long-term parking located further away. Restrictions placed upon employees may encourage them to seek alternate places to park or may encourage use of alternate modes of transportation.

The use of time-regulated parking, along with penalties for violators, will increase parking turnover; however, success is directly related to enforcement. Technology for enforcement varies greatly and while costly, proper Agenda Item No. 14 Page 169 CC Agenda 3-6-18 Attachment 11 management and enforcement of a time regulated parking system can ensure drivers will accept a new parking system and alter behavior.

Time-regulated parking systems require signage, enforcement personnel, and equipment. These facets of the system are costly and the revenues collected from parking citations will not be enough to cover expenses.

Based on the Plan’s estimates, as of 2008, the General Fund would need to supplement the parking system in excess of $115,000 annually.

A self-sustaining program would require a pay-to-park system. Such a system requires motorists to pay for parking spaces. It was recommended the City start a trial period with a low fee to introduce the parking system to patrons and then vary the fees based on demand. Such fees might encourage higher parking turnover, ensure the preferred 10% to 15% space availability, and encourage drivers to find alternate parking or alternate modes of transportation.

The net revenue collected from a pay-to-park program could also meet the Council’s stated goal of generating parking revenue to fund parking improvements, including increasing parking supply through spaces and facilities, new signage, beautification projects, and the Downtown Parking Management Plan.

To maintain an adequate supply of long and short-term parking with space availability between 10% and 15%, and have a fiscally balanced enforcement program, Parking Design Group recommended the following time-ordered strategies:

1. Develop a public and merchant information campaign.

2. Develop a uniform signage and wayfinding package.

3. Implement a time-regulated parking system with a pay-for-parking strategy to offset enforcement costs and provide funding for additional Downtown parking.

4. Initiate enforcement activities following a brief phase-in period.

5. Re-evaluate the existing per-space fee.

6. Implement a residential parking permit program if impacts on adjacent residential neighborhoods are experienced.

Agenda Item No. 14 Page 170 CC Agenda 3-6-18 Attachment 11 Figure 11
Agenda Item No. 14 Page 171 CC Agenda 3-6-18 Attachment 11 Figure 10EFFECT OF RESTRICTIONS IN ZONE IV ON THE STUDY AREA 1 HOUR 2 HOUR Agenda Item No. 14 Page 172 CC Agenda 3-6-18 Attachment 11 From: Lynn Crawford
To: City Clerk
Subject: M2 parking changes to downtown
Date: Monday, February 20, 2023 7:59:10 PM
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
I moved here 20 years ago because this city was so quaint and charming with a vibrant easy to access downtown shopping area. For years this town became even more welcoming causing the current dilemma. So many people wanting to eat, shop, work, and enjoy the downtown area that parking became a wonderful-to-have problem.

So elected officials attempted to fix it by giving employees a parking lot near the downtown so they wouldn’t take up space for tourists and even paying locals to access the many shops and eateries.

The problem continued to exist as more and more people discovered this charming little town so the current pay-to park was initiated with the caveat that 2 hours would be free and an ap could be used to register license plates without having to walk to the end of the street to register. Many adjusted to this slight inconvenience and even the theater made it easier to register license plates at the movie house itself. Unfortunately the plan ended up costing the city money so a new plan is proposed.

Here is the unintended consequence of the city’s proposal. Friends have come to visit but are confused by the rules so shop elsewhere. Locals have told me they went downtown to see if a local store had their special shoes in yet but didn’t stop because they would have to walk all the way to the end of the block for a 10 minute stay. These same folks have already decided to stay away if they have to pay $2 for the first hour in addition to walking to the kiosk to register. Alleviating this with a 30 minute green zone at the end of each block is not making it clear if these same folks have to PAY for this??
The General Store stated their concerns quite eloquently and I support their concerns wholeheartedly. We will adjust by changing our downtown shopping, eating, theater going, and park enjoyment activities but once all these parking spaces stay empty during “off” times the revenue generated during peak times probably won’t show the profit that is expected.

The city will then change their policy again but it will be too late to change the habits of those who used to enjoy the freedoms this lovely town once enjoyed.

Lynn Crawford
Sent from my iPhone
From: Joe Dorgan
To: City Clerk
Subject: Downtown parking
Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2023 9:34:52 AM
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
I am writing to express my appreciation for the senior parking program that has been available for the past two years. I hope it can continue. As an 83-year-old who is unfamiliar with the kiosk technology, I have enjoyed the chance to visit the downtown area and park without concern of incurring a penalty. I am happy to pay whatever fee is selected for the annual senior downtown parking program.

Thank you for your consideration of this issue.

Sincerely, Ann Dorgan
From: Bob McLaughlin
To: City Clerk
Subject: Parking Meters
Date: Monday, February 20, 2023 10:10:54 AM
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
I am a 38 year resident of Paso Robles. One of the many things that make the town is the vibrant easy-to-access downtown. But parking has been an issue in recent years. City Council’s solution was to encourage employees to park in designated lots thereby freeing up customer parking. The way to encourage that was the metered parking with two-hours free and a parking app that offset some of the inconvenience. The lack of a parking app makes local customer parking more inconvenient. The immediate fee for parking will drive locals away. If we have to pay to park why shop elsewhere or drink wine at the actual wineries or go elsewhere for a movie. The businesses of downtown are already struggling. Better to eliminate paid parking altogether with the city costs involved than to hurt downtown business. If they thrive, so does the city.

Dr. Bob McLaughlin
Paso Robles, CA 93446
From: Ron Mueller
To: City Clerk
Subject: Proposed changes to the downtown parking.

Date: Monday, February 20, 2023 10:08:38 AM
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
Hello,
I'm writing to voice my concerns over the proposed changes to the downtown parking program. I am strongly against the removal of the current two hour free option. This will adversely affect the downtown businesses as well as local residents. This new plan poses huge problems for "short term" visits to downtown businesses ("short term" being visits to things like a jewelry store, ice cream store, hardware store, health food store etc..). While I don't necessarily agree with the city that the WayToPark app should have been discontinued, there are other ways to give local residents the benefit of a two hour free parking rate. The best is probably what every business I have worked for in my career did for their employees: a simple parking sticker placed in the rear window of their vehicle. If necessary a small charge for the sticker could be used to offset the implementation of this type of program. Another thing to think about is the possibility of free parking after a certain hour in the evening (6pm???) at least on weekdays which would benefit the local restaurants and residents combined.

The bottom line is this: If I, as a local resident, no longer see parking benefits downtown, then I will no longer patronize that area of Paso Robles.

Ron Mueller
From: Sally Reynolds
To: Ty Lewis; John Hamon; Fred Strong; Chris Bausch; Steve Gregory; City Clerk; Damian Nord Subject: Downtown Parking Discussion #2
Date: Sunday, February 19, 2023 4:36:10 PM
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
This is a very hot topic for local residents. It is apparent by placing this item last on a very busy agenda, this council wants to shove
this through for approval without the public in attendance. People have to work.

By the time this item is heard, it may be midnight or
later. People can't be there for that many hours and they should not have to be.

This program has lost money since its inception, currently in excess of 3/4 of a million dollars.

It is time to cancel this program, accept our losses, and go on.

Regards,
Sally Reynolds
From: Donna Williams
To: City Clerk
Subject: Fwd: Paso Robles downtown parking
Date: Monday, February 13, 2023 9:06:39 AM
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
Greetings Paso Robles City Clerk,
We would appreciate this email being read into the City Council meeting on February 21 at 6:30. Agenda item: Downtown Parking. We will livestream the meeting.

We are emailing you to expressed dismay at the no free parking for rural Paso Robles residents. We understand the the Way-to-Park app was discontinued on 2/10/2023 and the new program doesn't allow for any free hours. Software is made to be programmed and adjusted to how you want it to be. If you want to be fair to rural Paso Robles residents, you could surely make it happen.

We are very proud Paso Robles residents, as is our daughter and son-in-law. We are your rural residents. Jim’s mother lives in downtown but no longer drives. We drive her wherever she needs to go, including parking in downtown. Also, our daughter works in downtown.

We frequent downtown often. We make purchases at many local shops as well as frequent the wonderful restaurants. The two hour free parking program is a benefit to all Paso‘s residents.

We understand the town needs to recoup some money. At least give rural residents one free hour of parking. It does not seem fair to single out your rural residents. It sure makes us all feel like we are not a part of the wonderful Paso community! It makes us feel as though we are tourists in our own town!
We seriously hope you reconsider the parking issue and remember the economic impact of all of Paso’s rural residents.

Thank you for your consideration,
Donna and Jim Williams
To: Paso Robles City Clerk
1000 Spring Street
Paso Robles CA 93446
[email protected]
From: Jan Albin – Resident, Paso Robles
Date: February 21, 2023
Dear Mayor Martin and members of the City Council:

I attended and was part of every single meeting and stakeholder discussion for a Downtown Parking Program taking place roughly four years ago.

Not at any time was this current Pay-to-Park with Kiosks etc. the choice of those involved.

In fact, the majority of participants were more in favor of Timed Parking, but no formal vote was taken.

But when our backs were turned, and unbeknownst to all, the former City Manager signed an agreement with Dixon Resources for the program we have in place now.

The die was cast, and you, our City Council approved a program that had to borrow $1,000,000.00 from the General Fund for start up, and one which promised to be cost-neutral in three (3) years.

Clearly that is not going to happen, as that loan, after four (4) years still has an outstanding balance of $723,000.00.

We all recognize that downtown parking is a problem, and that it arose out of the downtown business owners not being willing or able to control their employees parking in prime customer spaces.

That lack of business acumen is their problem. It should not be the responsibility, or the burden of the entire community to solve that for them.

But because Council was eager to appease a tourist-driven downtown business community, they adopted this parking abomination in the hopes it would solve the problem and be the magic potion. It was not.

And there are too many fundamental design flaws that can not be overcome by the proposed changes.

Continuing to throw tax payer dollars at this failed program is not the solution.

I believe the only solution must come from the business owners themselves.

Maybe they draft an employment agreement for their employees to sign at hire.

That agreement specifies that as a condition of employment, they agree to park in the specifically designated parking lots or anywhere outside of the downtown core area.

Maybe we have to get back to the business community being responsible for their own success or failure and not rely on the City to fix everything that stands in their path.

There have been substantial changes to the demographics of our town in the last mainly 10 years.

Not all for the good. But for the most part, our citizens will accept that change must happen.

What they won’t accept are changes that favor one faction of the community and disenfranchises another.

This program has alienated a substantial number of residents to the point of them now going anywhere else to shop and eat rather than bother with their own downtown. It has become that cumbersome and distasteful.

Four years ago you made this Downtown Parking Program decision based solely on the best interest and prosperity of the downtown business community.

That is not what you elected to do.

You were elected to make decisions in the best interest of your constituents and the entire community.

You’ve had weeks and weeks to read Social Media posts, newspaper articles and emails from your constituents and the downtown business community itself telling you what they think and how they feel about this program.

The changes you propose are not going to alter those opinions.

If you approve this “enhanced” plan, and vote to continue with this failed program, then please pay close attention to the attitude and disposition of your community going forward. Because that should be of paramount importance to you all.

Regards,
Jan Albin
From: Jeff Carr
To: City Clerk
Subject: Public Comments: Discussion Item 2 -- February 21 2023 Council Mtg Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2023 8:44:16 AM
[EXTERNAL EMAIL]
Public Comments for February 21 2023 Council Mtg
Discussion Item 2: Downtown On-Street Parking Program
Another in the unending discussions on downtown parking. If you do nothing else in this meeting---PLEASE clarify when and how this program intends to become 'cost neutral'.

The written presentation does not make that clear. It does not include consideration of the full program. It does not consider the 'lifetime' of the kiosk meter units--that I'm told is 10 years, so replacement costs are approaching quickly. It does not consider the license plate reader (ALPR) aspect of the system. The Vigilant contract will need to be renewed in the next year or two, and there will be replacement costs for ALPR equipment.

All costs including personnel costs will most likely be rising. This technology evolves quickly, and these parking product companies like making money, so I wouldn't be surprised to see early product obsolescence and possibly a need to replace equipment earlier than in 10 years.

Please clarify that revenues resulting from the parking fee increase will cover all the program costs, pay back the General Fund loan, and that there will be reserves available in the fund to cover replacement costs as this equipment ages.

I still stand by my comments back in 2019. This parking system is wrong for downtown Paso Robles, and the parking study at that time did not dictate a need for such an expensive and complicated system.

I've never used the system and do not intend to start. But that does not allow me to ignore the complications and problems it has brought to the city. The parking system has been nothing but regular heated council meeting discussions, and ongoing public stress that is regularly illustrated on social media and in local news media. I see no end to this as the parking system will continue to be a bad fit for many local residents.

But the council--and that includes most of the current council--approved and brought this parking system to the city. So live with it, and at least get back on target to make it 'cost neutral'. This city cannot afford to maintain this system as a burden on the General Fund.

The best thing you could do is to remove the entire system and go back to how things were in 2018 with respect to downtown parking. I recommend developing and evaluating an exit strategy and a path towards separating the city from this parking program---especially as the city approaches a time when repair and replacement costs will rise.

Jeff Carr--Paso Robles, CA
State Capitol Office ▪ 925 L Street • Suite 1404 • Sacramento, CA 95814 • Phone (916) 447-4086 Federal Office ▪ 600 Pennsylvania SE • Suite 207 • Washington, DC 20003 • Phone (202) 546-8696 Southern California Office ▪ 1401 Dove Street • Suite 330 • Newport Beach, CA 92660 • Phone (949) 399-9050 Central California Office ▪ 744 P Street • Suite 308 • Fresno, CA 93721 • Phone (949) 399-9050 Northern California Office ▪ 300 Frank Ogawa Plaza • Suite 204 • Oakland, CA 94612 • Phone (510) 835-9050

MEMORANDUM
To: Mayor Pro Tem John Hamon, City of Paso Robles
CC: Ty Lewis, City Manager
From: Townsend Public Affairs, Inc.

Ben Goldeen, Federal Advocacy Manager
Christopher Townsend, President
Date: February 17, 2023
Subject: Synopsis of City of Paso Robles Washington, DC Advocacy Trip Office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein
Sean Mullin, Legislative Assistant – Science and Technology Freda Pachter, Legislative Assistant – Transportation
Notes
 City leadership met with staff to Senator Dianne Feinstein handling space, science and technology, and transportation, providing an overview of the Golden Spike project and its importance to the City’s space port project.
 Freda with Sen. Feinstein asked about the spaceport application process and the City provided her an overview of the process and where the City currently stands in the application process.
 Sean spoke to the pending Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reauthorization. With the current authorization expiring on September 30, 2023 Congress is taking steps to approve a reauthorization. Sen. Feinstein’s office is accepting input from interested stakeholders. Sean suggested possible changes to the Space Transportation infrastructure Matching (STIM) Grants Program administered by FAA.
 On the Golden Spike project Freda shared the importance of matching funds to demonstrate support for the project in the eyes of the US Department of Transportation. o Freda suggested the City evaluate the upcoming INFRA Grant opportunity through the US Department of Transportation for funding for the Golden Spike Project. INFRA is a grant program aimed at supporting goods movement. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is expected later in the spring of 2023.  Sen. Feinstein’s staff offered the Senator’s support on the City’s efforts on both the Golden Spike and Spaceport.

Office of Rep. Jimmy Panetta
The Honorable Jimmy Panetta
Pete Spiro, Chief of Staff
Seamus McKeon, Legislative Assistant – Transportation
Notes
 City leaders provided an overview of the status of both the spaceport and Golden Spike project to Rep. Panetta and his staff.
 Rep. Panetta asked about the reasoning behind CalTrans’ hesitation to fund and support the overcrossing project.
 Rep. Panetta said he wanted to make sure that the State of California was on board with the project.
o Rep. Panetta is going to take into consideration ways to advance the project and asked for some time to confer with allies on the issue, including State Sen. Laird and Rep.

Carbajal.
o Mayor Pro Tem Hamon asked for Rep. Panetta to help the City push CalTrans toward a resolution.
 Rep. Panetta encouraged the City to apply for grants through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. o Rather than a small community project funding request (earmark) Rep. Panetta wants to support the city by going big with grants through the US Department of Transportation.
o There was also discussion of pursuing an appropriations programmatic request to fund the Golden Spike project. This will require some additional follow up with Pete Spiro, the Congressman’s Chief of Staff.
 The Congressman will be in Paso Robles during the congressional recess and his scheduler will contact the City to arrange an event.
 Congressman Panetta is excited to now represent the City of Paso Robles.

Office of Rep. Salud Carbajal
The Honorable Salud Carbajal
Johanna Montiel, Deputy Chief of Staff/Legislative Director Notes
 Rep. Salud Carbajal was glad to welcome the City to his office. After years of representing the City redistricting moved his district to the south, however he is still eager to help.  Rep. Carbajal suggested making the Golden Spike a major regional priority by partnering with the regional MPOs such as SBCAG and SLOCOG, specifically recommending the City get the project on the SBCAG R-TIP.
 Rep. Carbajal will be helpful as he can to help coordinate regional support for the City’s projects.

Office of Sen. Alex Padilla
Mana Azarmi, Counsel – Science and Technology
Andrew Baratta, Legislative Correspondent – Transportation Notes:
 City leaders shared the information on the Spaceport and Golden Spike, including difficulties with CalTrans and the process for receiving FAA approval of the Spaceport project.  Sen. Padilla’s staff will share this information with the Senator to make sure he is aware of the innovative partnership occurring on the central coast.
 Sen. Padilla’s staff said they would support the city’s projects through letters of support for grants.
 The possibility of Sen. Padilla visiting Paso Robles to tour the site was discussed and Mana said the city should send in the request to the scheduling team and copy her so that she can elevate the request.

Overall Takeaways
The City of Paso Robles came to Washington, DC to elevate the profile of their work to construct a Spaceport on the Central Coast and provide safe transportation to it by completing the Golden Spike project. By engaging with the City’s congressional delegation the project is now at the top of mind of California’s federal political leadership. Follow-up will be key to the long-term success of the trip. It will be important to keep staff to the Senators and Representatives up to date on milestones and challenges for both projects. The federal appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2024 provides an opportunity to seek funding for the project, albeit a relatively small amount.

Upcoming federal transportation grant programs such as INFRA and the Bridge Improvement Program can provide substantially more funding than the Congressional appropriations process.

These grants should be reviewed and the offices of the City’s congressional delegation should be updated on the City’s plans to pursue grant funding.

Paso Robles City CouncilFebruary 21, 2023

Paso Robles City Council
February 21, 2023