PISMO BEACH COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
Agenda Item #12.A
SUBJECT/TITLE:
PRICE STREET DOUBLE-LOADED DIAGONAL PARKING
RECOMMENDATION:
Provide direction to staff with respect to diagonal parking in the center of Price Street.
BACKGROUND:
Price Street is one of two north/south connector streets through downtown Pismo Beach.
The curb-to-curb width of roadway varies slightly, however on average from Bay Street to San Luis Avenue, Price Street is about 60 feet wide, and from San Luis Avenue to Pomeroy Avenue, it is about 65 feet wide. The minutes from the January 16, 2003 City Council meeting show that a contract was awarded to Toste Paving to slurry seal Price Street and reconfigure the street from four lanes, two lanes in each direction, to two lanes, one in each direction, with the addition of diagonal parking in the center of the street. The “newly” configured Price Street, from Bay Street to Pomeroy Avenue, has approximately 8 feet of parallel curb side parking and a 12–14 foot travel lane on both sides of the street with the rest of the street width dedicated to center diagonal parking. This configuration yields 169 parking spaces and is shown in Figure 1, below.
Figure 1. Price Street Center Parking from Harloe Avenue to San Luis Avenue
Over the years, first responders have encountered vehicles parked in the center parking that are either too big to fit in the parking space, or that do not pull forward all the way to the parking stop and hang into the travel lane. There have been times where this has occurred simultaneously with a car parked along the curb and a responding fire engine has had to back up the street to the intersection and utilize Dolliver to get around the blockage.
12’-14’
12’-14’
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While reviewing some archives for another project, staff discovered a plan that showed “double-loaded” diagonal parking on Price Street, and because parking is one of the City Council’s top priorities, staff felt the need to revisit this old plan. The plan calls for the elimination of curbside parallel parking on both sides of the street, in favor of a 4.5-foot bike lane, an 11-foot travel lane on each side of the street and 30 feet of double-loaded diagonal parking in the center of the street. The parking stops would be replaced with a two-foot median to allow for better access by the street sweeper and improve the aesthetics of the corridor. This configuration would yield 207 parking spaces and is shown in Figure 2, below.
Figure 2. Price Street Double Loaded Diagonal Parking
While 207 total parking spaces can be achieved, staff recommends including loading zones on some of the side streets to facilitate the local businesses. These loading zones would remove a total of 12 parking spaces from the side streets, resulting in a net gain of 26 parking spaces, or a 15% increase in parking inventory. The full plan with parking counts is included in Attachment 1. In addition to increasing parking throughout the corridor by removing the curbside parking, the plan enables first responders to navigate around a vehicle that extends out of the parking space by utilizing the bike lane if necessary.
The City is currently under construction of the 2022/23 Paving Project. The contractor is presently constructing the sidewalk from Spyglass Drive to Mattie Road under the US
4.5’
11’
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101. When the contractor completes this portion of the project (expected in the middle to end of March) work will move to Price Street so that construction on Price Street can be completed before the busy summer months. Due to the tight timeline associated with a possible reconfiguration of Price Street, staff presented the idea to the City Council at its special goal-setting meeting on February 3, 2023. At that time, the City Council directed staff to receive input from the Parking Advisory Committee, the Traffic Safety Committee, and the Price Street businesses.
Parking Advisory Committee
The Parking Advisory Committee met on February 8, 2023 and received a presentation on the proposed plan. The Committee recommended approval of the plan as presented as long as it fit within the right-of-way. The Committee noted that there are currently no loading zones and suggested that the plan be implemented without the loading zones at first and that impacts to deliveries be evaluated and the loading zones added later if necessary or desired.
Traffic Safety Committee
The Traffic Safety Committee met on February 9, 2023 and voted to approve the proposal.
The Police Chief, Fire Chief, Director of Public Works, and Assistant City Manager/Risk Manager have determined that the revised plan would increase public safety by increasing visibility of pedestrians on the sidewalk, providing a way around cars that hang out of the center parking, and creating defined bike lanes.
Price Street Businesses
The Pismo Beach Chamber of Commerce arranged a Price Street Business Meeting on February 10, 2023, at which the plan was presented to the business owners. Some of the business owners showed support for the proposed plan, while some showed opposition.
The business owners recommended that the if the plan is implemented, the bike lane be omitted to avoid the situation where a vehicle might back up into the bike lane.
Testing the Proposed Plan
To ensure that the new configuration fits within the right-of-way and works as intended, staff placed parking stops in the street as a mock median and painted the parking lines and bike lanes with temporary marking paint. Once the mockup was in place, a Chevy Suburban (225.7 inches long) and a Chevy Tahoe (210.7 inches long), both among the longest common SUVs, were parked in the center of the street and traffic was observed.
A picture of the mockup is shown in Figure 3, below.Figure 3. Price Street Double Loaded Diagonal Parking Mockup
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Another option, should the City Council wish to implement the Double-Loaded Diagonal Parking Plan, is to include a line defining the end of the parking space. This line would make the travel lane more defined and allow signage to be included on the parking meters to indicate that vehicles which are not fully contained within the parking space may be cited. Figure 3, above, shows what that could look like.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss the proposed plan for double-loaded diagonal parking on Price Street and provide staff with direction on the following questions:
1. Should double-loaded diagonal parking be implemented?
2. If double-loaded diagonal parking is implemented, should a bike lane be included?
3. If double-loaded diagonal parking is implemented, should loading zones be included?
4. If double-loaded diagonal parking is implemented, should a line be included define the end of the parking space?
FISCAL IMPACT:
The exact fiscal impact of the Price Street Double-Loaded Parking Plan is unknown at this time, however staff estimates that there will be a nominal cost savings. The current adopted plan includes a three-foot median which is not at the crown of the road. The proposed plan includes a two-foot median located at the crown of the road, eliminating the need for a concrete gutter and drainage “scuppers” to allow water to pass through the median.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. Direct staff to delay the Price Street Improvements, including paving and the installation of parking meters until after the summer season to allow for more time for discussion.
2. Direct staff to keep the current configuration of Price Street.
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ATTACHMENTS:
1. Double-Loaded Price Street Parking Plan
Submitted by: Meeting Date: February 21, 2023
Benjamin A. Fine, P.E.
Director of Public Works/City Engineer
City Manager Approval:
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Parking Report
Summary
The following information should convey the revised design for double loaded pull-in angled parking for Price Street in Downtown Pismo Beach. Table 1 summarizes the parking availability going either direction on Price Street based on the cross streets between each block.
Section Of Price Street
Direction Bay St to Harloe Ave Harloe to San Luis Ave San Luis to Wadsworth Ave Wadsworth to Hollister Ave North 15 16 6 15
South 15 16 15 15
Hollister to Pismo Ave Pismo Ave to Main St Main St to Pomeroy Ave TOTALS North 15 14 18 99
South 15 14 18 108
207
*Need to subtract loading zones
To account for the loading zones (exact locations pending), Specialty Parking # of Zones
Total Parking Spaces
Taken
Loading Zones 6 12
Such that, the new total of parking spaces:
Of these spaces, 7 are ADA Compliant Green Spaces.
Parking Type # of Spaces Used
Green Spaces (ADA
Compliant) 7
Old v. New
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Attachment 1
Drawings
Figure 1: Overview of project area.
Figure 2: Main Street to Pomeroy Ave
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Attachment 1
Figure 3: Bay St to San Luis Ave
Figure 4: San Luis Ave to Hollister Ave
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Figure 5: Hollister Ave to Main Street
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Flow of Traffic
Figure 6: Parking orientation, no bike lane.
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Attachment 1
Figure 7: Parking orientation, with bike lane.
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Attachment 1