City of Lawrence

Office of the City Manager

Memorandum

To:	Mayor and City Commission
From:	City Manager David Corliss
Date:	January 23, 2014
Re:	Parking System and Rates for Vermont Street Parking Garage & Top Floor of New Hampshire Parking Garage

Staff has been evaluating a number of options for the parking system and rates for the new Vermont Street Parking Garage as the Lawrence Public Library renovation proceeds to a summer opening. The attached memorandum from the Assistant Public Works Director outlines our recommended purchase of a system for the Vermont Street Parking Garage which roughly follows the existing system for the New Hampshire Parking Garage. This includes lower level parking which will be 2 Hour Free and upper levels of the garage as pay to park/10 Parking permit. This is recommended as complementary to library uses which will allow for patrons using the library over a relatively short time to park for free, while longer term library users, library employees and other downtown employees and long-term patrons to park for a fee ($1.00) or a 10 hour tag. This follows our parking system at the New Hampshire parking garage and is viewed as favorable for most likely users of the parking garage: downtown employees, library and swimming pool users, and other users and visitors to downtown.

I am also recommending that the top exposed parking spaces be free for 10 hour parking (we do not want parkers to store vehicles, hence the 10 hour time limit). I am recommending that the existing free parking at the New Hampshire parking garage be removed and the pay to park ($1.00) or 10 hour tag system be re-instituted at this location. This parking garage is seeing more substantial use as development occurs in this area and the rationale for free parking at this location is diminished. Our parking system is based on the rationale of “pay to park” with user fees seeking to minimize general fund or capital fund support to operate and maintain the system. While our parking rates have remained constant (some would point out our rates have remained “modest”), expenses to operate our parking system (particularly personnel costs) and maintain our parking system (particularly maintenance of our parking garages, including approximately $300,000 in debt financed maintenance in 2012-2013) continue to grow. It will remain essential to continue to look for ways to automate aspects of our parking system, look for opportunities to maximize revenues and reduce costs. We operate our downtown parking system not to fund our general City expenditures, but to enhance our vibrant downtown thru the provision of adequate, modest cost parking for patrons, employees and visitors.

Recommended Action:

Approve recommended parking system, the parking rate system for the Vermont Street parking garage, and remove the “free” parking designation for the top level of the New Hampshire parking garage.