City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JANUARY 16, 2013
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: RASHAD M. YOUNG, CITY MANAGER /s/
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Consideration of a Citywide on-Street Carshare Policy and Adoption of a Resolution. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
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ISSUE: City Council consideration of a "Citywide On-Street Carshare Policy" and Resolution. Please see the attached memorandum dated January 16 (Attachment #2)
RECOMMENDATION: That the Council approve a resolution to establish a "Citywide On-Street Carshare Policy" that would allow the leasing of on-street spaces to carshare vendors for an annual fee.
DISCUSSION: Since the mid-1980s, the City of Alexandria has been at the forefront of Transportation Demand Management (TDM) efforts in Virginia. The City's Local Motion program provides support and options to reduce reliance on private automobiles and promotes transportation alternatives such as transit, bicycling, walking, carpooling, and telework programs.
Carsharing is a TDM tool that is used to reduce reliance on single occupancy vehicle (SOV) travel and is a component of Local Motion's overall effort to promote multimodal transportation options and enhance mobility throughout the City. Individuals can become members of a carsharing service by paying a flat annual fee and reserve a car for hourly use via internet or phone. Depending on the carshare program, members may be required to pay a nominal monthly membership fee as well as hourly or per mile fees. Rates generally cover gas, insurance, maintenance, and roadside assistance.
The City's Carshare Alexandria! program, currently funded by Local Motion, reimburses residents for their first year of membership. Local Motion is funded by a grant of $285,000 with a City match of $57,000 per year. The program was launched in 2004 and has had 477 participants to date. Carshare Alexandria! conducts follow up surveys of new members nine months after participating in the program. Recent surveys by Transportation Planning staff indicate that after participation in the program, the car ownership rate amongst participants decreased by 18 percent, which is within three percent of all jurisdictions surveyed in North America.
To make car sharing more accessible to residents, the City is considering a citywide on-street carshare policy that would allow on-street parking spaces in the City to be designated as carshare spaces.
The following conditions are being proposed for inclusion in the policy:
· Interested vendors requesting consideration for on-street parking spaces for a carshare vehicle must submit their request to the City's Traffic and Parking Board for consideration. The Director of Transportation and Environmental Services will then make a recommendation.
· No more than two designated on-street parking spaces per block may be reserved for carshare.
· On-street spaces may be leased to carshare vendors for a minimum of two years.
· The per space rate will be set annually based on the average meter revenue if the space had operated as a metered space throughout the year. Leasing fees per space are based on meter revenue by location. 2013 annual fees are as follows:
Old Town: $2,300 per space
Carlyle: $1,500 per space
· Vendors will be selected through a competitive process and are required to sign a license agreement with the City subject to approval by the City Attorney's Office.
Staff has consulted with the City Attorney's office and no legal impediments to reserving on-street parking spaces for private carsharing vehicles within the public right of way have been identified. Staff will continue to consult with the City Attorney's office as the policy evolves.
The City-wide On-street Carshare Policy was favorably received by the City's Transportation Commission on December 5, 2012.
FISCAL IMPACT: Based on FY 2011 meter revenue figures implementation of the on-street car share policy is estimated to generate approximately $2,300 per space in Old Town and $1,500 per space in Carlyle in 2013. Since these spaces will replace metered spaces that generate the same amount of revenue, there is no fiscal impact to the City, unless the reserved on-street space is located in a non-metered area, in which case additional revenue of $2,300 per space in Old Town and $1,500 per space in Carlyle is estimated in 2013. The annual revenue may vary slightly based on the meter revenue during the year within which the request is made.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Proposed Resolution
Attachment 2: January 16 memo (additional requested information)
Attachment 3: City Manager's Report
Attachment 4: Local Motion Program Review
Attachment 5: Robert Test letter
Attachment 6: Citywide On-Street Carshare Policy Presentation
STAFF:
Mark Jinks, Deputy City Manager
Richard J. Baier, P.E., LEED AP, Director, T&ES
Sandra Marks, AICP, Acting Deputy Director, T&ES
Faye Dastgheib, Principal Parking Planner, T&ES