City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: SEPTEMBER 18, 2019
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
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Consideration of a Resolution to Establish an All-Day Meter Rate. [ROLL-CALL VOTE]
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ISSUE: Consideration of a resolution to establish an all-day meter rate.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council adopt the resolution (Attachment 1) to approve an all-day meter rate of $5 in appropriate locations as recommended by the Director of Transportation & Environmental Services and after consideration by the Traffic and Parking Board.
BACKGROUND: Section 5-8-93 of the City Code addresses the process to set the hours, days, maximum parking time periods, and rates for metered blocks in the City. Currently, the following have been approved and are in place in the City:
• 2-hour max parking, 8AM to 9PM, Monday to Saturday, $1.75 an hour (applies to most meters in Old Town east of Alfred Street and in Carlyle/Eisenhower East);
• 3-hour max parking, 8AM to 9PM, Monday to Saturday, $1.75 an hour (applies to most meters in Old Town west of Alfred Street); and
• 3-hour max parking, 8AM to 6PM, Monday to Saturday, $1.75 an hour (applies to meters in Potomac Yard)
In 2018, an amendment to this section allowed for the City Council to set the specific details for meters related to rates and hours by resolution. The Traffic and Parking Board is charged with considering locations for new metered blocks. This change was intended to allow for more flexibility in addressing specific metered parking needs for an area or a block to improve utilization and parking management. Additionally, an ordinance was recently approved by City Council to amend the City Code to remove the maximum time limit of 4 hours, which was necessary to allow for an all-day metered parking rate.
DISCUSSION: In the FY 2020 budget, City Council approved a budget adjustment that instructed staff to introduce a daily rate to increase utilization of certain metered spots on Jamieson Avenue.
Staff had previously observed that spaces on the 1400 to 1600 block of Jamieson Avenue between South West Street and Holland Lane and just north of the Alexandria National Cemetery (Attachment 2) are not as well utilized as other nearby spaces. This block is currently limited to 2-hour parking at the standard metered rate of $1.75 per hour. Although this block is close to Carlyle and other office locations near King Street Metro Station, this block typically has very low occupancy. Staff believes the 2-hour time limit and current meter rate are factors in this low utilization.
Staff proposes implementing an all-day rate with a maximum charge of $5 to evaluate whether this improves utilization of these spaces. This resolution would create the all-day parking rate that would allow staff to implement this change. Currently, there are no other locations under consideration for an all-day meter rate. However, if other locations are deemed appropriate for such a change, staff would bring the proposal to the Traffic and Parking Board for a public hearing and consideration.
The Traffic and Parking Board considered a proposal to implement an all-day parking rate on blocks of Jamieson Avenue at its meeting on May 20, 2019 and voted unanimously to recommend that Council approve a resolution to allow these changes. There were no speakers on this item.
FISCAL IMPACT: The adoption of this resolution will provide another rate and hour structure for metered spaces in the City. As staff would normally only consider this rate structure in locations where utilization is low where the intent is to make the spaces more attractive, there is a potentially positive fiscal impact associated with this resolution as more vehicles would be paying to park. In very preliminary estimates for making this change to the Jamieson Avenue blocks, staff anticipates a fiscal impact of an additional $15,000 annually. This assumes that at least half of the spaces on these blocks pay the $5 all-day rate at least 20 days a month. Staff will monitor the utilization of these blocks to determine whether the change to the rate structure and hours has improved utilization or if other changes need to be made.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Resolution
Attachment 2: Map of Proposed All Day Meters on Jamieson Avenue
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Yon Lambert, Director, T&ES
Hillary Orr, Deputy Director of Transportation, T&ES
Katye North, Division Chief, Mobility Services, T&ES
Alex Block, Principal Planner, Mobility Services, T&ES
Megan Oleynik, Urban Planner, Mobility Services, T&ES