MONROE - The Business Improvement District board and Main Street Monroe will have a chance to have their say on downtown parking as the city seeks to gain input on recommendations from a new parking study. Once those groups have had a chance to voice their opinion for the best option, the city council will revisit and decide the future of the aging municipal parking ramp Feb. 2.
At the Common Council meeting Tuesday, Assistant City Administrator Martin Shanks outlined options provided by Rich & Associates, the firm hired to study parking downtown as the city considers the fate the downtown parking ramp. The city has included the final report on it website. Any movement going forward will be with feedback from the Board of Public Works and Public Safety Committee.
Project Manager David Burr presented several recommendations to create and enforce a time limit on parking along the Square; maintain parking spaces; and update signage. New signs would include arrows to help drivers locate public parking and ones to help both drivers and pedestrians locate common areas and buildings. For time limits, Burr suggested two hours enforced by police tagging of vehicles in order to deter employees take up lots which could be used by customers.
Shanks requested the city use each timeframe recommended by the firm to implement recommendations.
For the parking ramp, Shanks pointed to what he referred to as "two different groups of options." Each individual option would vary how many spaces the city could provide in the near and far future, and the availability of spaces during special events. Each also has varying costs depending on the outlined parking space.
In one set of options, the city could tear down and replace the existing parking ramp with other accessible parking.
• New lot, 72 spaces
If the city made the decision to demolish the existing parking ramp, it could create a 72-stall surface lot in its place. Rich & Associates estimated this would cost roughly $180,000 to $260,000, not including demolition costs. A study in 2013 identified demolition costs at just more than $364,000. On a typical day, Burr said, the flat lot should provide sufficient parking capacity but would not accommodate special event parking.
• New ramp, 169 spaces
If the city created a new ramp with the same spaces currently available in the standing ramp minus the area deemed unsafe, 169 stalls, the estimated building cost would be $3 million to $4 million. Burr said the space would provide sufficient parking capacity on a typical day for the foreseeable future and would help accommodate special event parking more sufficiently than the flat lot option.
• New ramp, 212 spaces
A new parking ramp with 212 spaces, the size of the current ramp, would be substantial in accommodating special event parking, Burr said. Cost estimates for the project are between $4 million and $5 million. The study points to the identically-sized ramp as the best to provide sufficient parking space for all times of the year, and will do so for "the future and well beyond."
The other set of options would focus on immediate future options by retaining the existing parking ramp.
• Public-private partnership for repairs
One option Shanks put forward is investigating paying a private company to provide updates to the existing structure. The cost is unknown but a study is underway to consider its feasibility. This option would require changes to Tax Increment District No. 7 so the cost would be paid back through the TID; further evaluation by the city would have to be conducted once the study is completed. Shanks said the information may be ready in two weeks.
• Focus on parking duration/enforcement
The other choice would be to implement other recommendations in the study, specifically parking enforcement to see how they "may affect the dynamics of the parking system." Shanks said once the city shifted in its parking practices, such as a two-hour time enforcement along the Square and providing the signage recommended by Rich & Associates, it could re-examine the best option for the ramp site. He added that both options could be done in tandem. If the city focuses on recommendations apart from the ramp, it would have more time to pursue private partnership options. With either choice, Shanks recommended the city approve a strategy for how to handle immediate safety and liability concerns with the current parking ramp.
For the remaining recommendations, Shanks said the city should use the timeframes suggested by Rich & Associates. He suggested moving the responsibility of developing parking duration changes to the Public Safety Committee. For "a family of signs" suggested by Rich & Associates, he said the responsibility should be delegated to the Board of Public Works, along with a monthly maintenance report on downtown parking stalls and facilities.
On the financial side of maintenance, the Finance and Taxation Committee could consider the cost of any noted repairs included in the report in addition to the recommended $10 to 20 per space Burr said should be allocated for upkeep.
At the Common Council meeting Tuesday, Assistant City Administrator Martin Shanks outlined options provided by Rich & Associates, the firm hired to study parking downtown as the city considers the fate the downtown parking ramp. The city has included the final report on it website. Any movement going forward will be with feedback from the Board of Public Works and Public Safety Committee.
Project Manager David Burr presented several recommendations to create and enforce a time limit on parking along the Square; maintain parking spaces; and update signage. New signs would include arrows to help drivers locate public parking and ones to help both drivers and pedestrians locate common areas and buildings. For time limits, Burr suggested two hours enforced by police tagging of vehicles in order to deter employees take up lots which could be used by customers.
Shanks requested the city use each timeframe recommended by the firm to implement recommendations.
For the parking ramp, Shanks pointed to what he referred to as "two different groups of options." Each individual option would vary how many spaces the city could provide in the near and far future, and the availability of spaces during special events. Each also has varying costs depending on the outlined parking space.
In one set of options, the city could tear down and replace the existing parking ramp with other accessible parking.
• New lot, 72 spaces
If the city made the decision to demolish the existing parking ramp, it could create a 72-stall surface lot in its place. Rich & Associates estimated this would cost roughly $180,000 to $260,000, not including demolition costs. A study in 2013 identified demolition costs at just more than $364,000. On a typical day, Burr said, the flat lot should provide sufficient parking capacity but would not accommodate special event parking.
• New ramp, 169 spaces
If the city created a new ramp with the same spaces currently available in the standing ramp minus the area deemed unsafe, 169 stalls, the estimated building cost would be $3 million to $4 million. Burr said the space would provide sufficient parking capacity on a typical day for the foreseeable future and would help accommodate special event parking more sufficiently than the flat lot option.
• New ramp, 212 spaces
A new parking ramp with 212 spaces, the size of the current ramp, would be substantial in accommodating special event parking, Burr said. Cost estimates for the project are between $4 million and $5 million. The study points to the identically-sized ramp as the best to provide sufficient parking space for all times of the year, and will do so for "the future and well beyond."
The other set of options would focus on immediate future options by retaining the existing parking ramp.
• Public-private partnership for repairs
One option Shanks put forward is investigating paying a private company to provide updates to the existing structure. The cost is unknown but a study is underway to consider its feasibility. This option would require changes to Tax Increment District No. 7 so the cost would be paid back through the TID; further evaluation by the city would have to be conducted once the study is completed. Shanks said the information may be ready in two weeks.
• Focus on parking duration/enforcement
The other choice would be to implement other recommendations in the study, specifically parking enforcement to see how they "may affect the dynamics of the parking system." Shanks said once the city shifted in its parking practices, such as a two-hour time enforcement along the Square and providing the signage recommended by Rich & Associates, it could re-examine the best option for the ramp site. He added that both options could be done in tandem. If the city focuses on recommendations apart from the ramp, it would have more time to pursue private partnership options. With either choice, Shanks recommended the city approve a strategy for how to handle immediate safety and liability concerns with the current parking ramp.
For the remaining recommendations, Shanks said the city should use the timeframes suggested by Rich & Associates. He suggested moving the responsibility of developing parking duration changes to the Public Safety Committee. For "a family of signs" suggested by Rich & Associates, he said the responsibility should be delegated to the Board of Public Works, along with a monthly maintenance report on downtown parking stalls and facilities.
On the financial side of maintenance, the Finance and Taxation Committee could consider the cost of any noted repairs included in the report in addition to the recommended $10 to 20 per space Burr said should be allocated for upkeep.