[bouldercouncilhotline] Hotline: Parking Pricing -- Points to Consider on First Reading of Budget October 6

[cmosupport at bouldercolorado.gov]

Sender: Cowles, Macon

I understand from the City Manager and from Finance that October 6 will be the time to discuss this issue. Here are the points that I would like staff to consider, and respond to, at First Reading.


I have spoken with a number of property owners with parking garages or lots downtown, and I met this morning with Sean Maher to discuss parking downtown. None of the people I have spoken with disagree with this principle: City and CAGID parking should be priced at market rates and managed in such a way as to provide the most convenient parking for shoppers because managing for shoppers increases sales tax revenue and thus captures a return on investment of the parking facility.


On Market Rates: CAGID rates are substantially below market. In a July posting, Parking Services indicated that Downtown garage private long term rates in 2015 ranged from $375/qtr – $525/qtr.  I will add these data points: One Boulder Plaza’s rack rate for their three garages is $600/qtr. Wells Fargo's surface lot parking costs $5 per hour to a max of $20 per day. This compares to $2 per day in  City parking surface lots and CAGID rates of $1.25/hr for the first 4 hours and $2.50/hr. thereafter.


CAGID’s proposed rate for 2016 is $350/qtr.  But this rate is lower than the lowest long term rate of any private parking facility. CAGID’s spaces are not reserved, not guaranteed and they are shared with the short term parking demand.  But this is also the case for private parking structures. Only a small portion of the parking spaces are reserved; the others are shared, and like the City of Boulder, owners of structured parking oversell the spaces.


One Boulde Plaza, for example,  manages 511 parking spaces in 4 underground parking structures (all located in a 3 block Downtown core area) which are used as follows:
Permit parking spaces            268 -   52%  (they sell 348 permits, overselling by 30%)
Short Term parking spaces       69 -   14%
Reserved parking spaces        174 -   34%
   Totals                                    511 - 100%


Bottom Line for Parking rates: We have 700 people on the wait list for CAGID parking, indicating obviously very strong demand for parking in CAGID lots. Rather than the proposed 2016 CAGID rates ($325/qtr)  that are below what anyone else charges, the rates should at least fall within the midrange of what private garages charge. Increase fees incrementally until the size of the wait list declines.  And the rates for NPP commuter passes and for City employee parking need to be higher as well, following the same logic as I have described for the CAGID structures. Re City employee parking: we pay our employees well. If they drive to work, they should pay market rates for parking.


On Managing for shoppers. The change that would be needed here is to have the permit holders park on the upper floors as well as pay market rates. And here are two important additional changes:


1. Increase parking fines. Right now, construction crews are parking downtown all day for the price of a single parking ticket: $15. This is cheap parking for them, but it keeps shoppers and diners from getting convenient store front parking for quick purchases and meals.


2. Expand the hours for which people must pay for curbside parking. Currently, people must pay for curbside parking only until 7 PM. Some employees are parking at 6 PM, paying for an hour, and then leaving their vehicle in that spot for the rest of the night. This keeps shoppers and diners from being able to find and use convenient spots.


What do do with extra revenue: The City subsidizes Eco Passes for full time employees downtown. But it is the low paid, part time employees who need the help. Buy Eco Passes for part time as well as full time employees of downtown businesses.


Search traffic. As a final matter, cities that have done studies of search traffic have found that more than half of downtown traffic consists of motorists searching for a parking spot. All of the above measures, plus better
 real time information re parking structures, would reduce the search traffic and make the life of motorists and shoppers more pleasant.

Macon Cowles
Boulder City Council Member
1726 Mapleton Ave.
Boulder, Colorado 80304
CowlesM at bouldercolorado.gov
(303) 638-6884