PISMO BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item #12.C
SUBJECT/TITLE:
PRICE STREET PARKING CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
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.
Over the year, Price Street has had various lane configurations, and parking modifications. The most recent configuration, referred to in this report as the 2003 configuration, has approximately 8 feet of parallel curbside parking and a 12- to 14-foot travel lane on both sides of the street with the rest of the street width dedicated to center diagonal parking, resulting 169 parking spaces as shown in Figure 1, below.
Figure 1. Price Street Center Parking from Harloe Avenue to San Luis Avenue While the 2003 configuration maximizes parking, it is not without its challenges. 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 occasions when a responding fire engine has had to back up the street to the intersection and utilize Dolliver Street to get around the blockage.
12’-14’
12’-14’
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At the February 21, 2023 City Council meeting, staff presented an archived plan that included “double-loaded” diagonal parking on Price Street, as a potential way to further increase parking in the area.
The 2023 configuration called 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 as shown in Figure 2, below. The City Council directed that the reconfiguration be implemented on a trial basis, without the bike lane, and that staff would solicit community feedback and report the findings to the Council for consideration before providing direction on a permanent configuration. The 2023 configuration was implemented as a pilot and scheduled to run throughout the peak summer season.
Figure 2. Price Street Double-Loaded Diagonal Parking
During the pilot configuration, several parking spaces at the beginning of each block needed to be eliminated or reduced to a motorcycle parking space to accommodate the turning radius of the City’s fire engines, and large vehicles. These adjustments reduced the parking count from 195 parking spaces to 179 regular parking spaces and 15 motorcycle parking spaces. While the removed spaces were converted into motorcycle parking, the net impact to vehicle parking spaces diminished from the intended outcome.
4.5’
11’
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Throughout the duration of the pilot period of the 2023 configuration, staff had several meetings with local businesses to receive feedback on the performance of the plan. Some of the comments received included:
What worked well:
Additional parking
Better visibility – storefronts as they are not blocked by parked cars Better visibility – pedestrians can better see oncoming traffic There is a perception of increased vitality
What didn’t work well:
Vehicles speeding and not stopping at the stop signs
It is difficult to navigate, due to vehicles backing up on every block as opposed to every other block
Police officers do not have a place to pull vehicles over (this was also the case with the previous configuration)
Several driveways are hard to access due to a reduced turning radius There are traffic issues due to people backing up (this was also the case with the previous configuration)
Other comments:
Larger loading zones would be appreciated
Large vehicles, or vehicles that are not pulled fully into the parking space, impede the flow of traffic
After hearing some of the concerns from those who attended the meetings, staff does not recommend proceeding with the 2023 pilot configuration on a permanent basis. To provide better alternatives, staff analyzed additional parking configurations for Price Street as outlined below.
Curbside Parallel Parking Only
This option would provide for parallel parking along the curb and eliminate all median parking. This option would only yield 89 parking spaces (a loss of 80 parking spaces), however it would provide for a 23-foot travel lane on each side of the street that could be used to provide a bike lane. This is not recommended, as it would both reduce parking substantially, an also block visibility for businesses and pedestrians.
Hybrid Median/Diagonal Parking
This option would provide diagonal parking alternating between being accessible from northbound traffic and southbound traffic on every other block, similar to the 2003 configuration. This option would eliminate curbside parking in favor of median parking to allow for better visibility, and would yield a total of 156 parking spaces (a reduction of 13 parking spaces). However, this option would result in 17.5-foot travel lanes (travel lanes are typically 11-12 feet wide), which could possibly provide for enough room to pass a vehicle pulled over on the curb side on certain segments of the road. An illustrative diagram of this configuration is shown below in Figure 3.
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Figure 3. Hybrid Median/Diagonal Parking Layout from Pismo Avenue to Main Street “2003 Configuration” Diagonal Parking
This option would return Price Street back to its previous configuration consisting of alternating diagonal parking with parking along both curbs. This option yielded 169 parking spaces; however it did not account for the required turning radiuses at each intersection. If this configuration is restored, staff recommends that 8 parking spaces be removed or converted to motorcycle parking to accommodate the City’s fire engines. The reduced parking space areas could also be ideal locations for enhanced beautification of the corridor.
Table 1, below summarizes each option with the number of parking spaces associated with the option.
Table 1. Summary of Parking Configuration Options
Option Number of Spaces
Curbside Parallel Parking 89
Hybrid Median/Diagonal Parking 156
“2003 Configuration” Diagonal Parking 169
Conclusion and Recommendation
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss the parking layout options for Price Street and provide staff with direction on how to proceed.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The exact fiscal impact of each of the options is unknown at this time, however staff estimates that they will be cost neutral or that there will be a nominal cost savings.
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ATTACHMENTS:
1. Hybrid Parking Plan
2. “2003 Configuration” Diagonal Parking Plan
Meeting Date: October 3, 2023 Prepared and Submitted by:
Benjamin A. Fine, P.E.
Director of Public Works/City Engineer
Interim City Manager Approval:
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