B-1 Appendix B. Comparative City Parking System Information To provide comparisons with other cities, the study team collected information about parking systems from 11 municipalities across the country. The selection was designed to provide a cross section of parking system organizational structures with some focus on cities in the Southeast. Included in the survey were: • Birmingham, AL • Charlotte, NC • Jacksonville, FL • Memphis, TN • Miami, FL • Nashville, TN • Norfolk, VA • Richmond, VA • Portland, OR • Tampa, FL • Washington, D.C. The information about parking systems in these cities was collected through internet research and through direct contact with individuals responsible for or knowledgeable of those operations. The results of that survey are provided on the pages that follow, including a summary grid of key organizational characteristics. The comparative cities are grouped according to the type of parking organization. • Association • Authority • City Department
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Appendix B. Comparative City Parking System Information
To provide comparisons with other cities, the study team collected information about
parking systems from 11 municipalities across the country. The selection was designed
to provide a cross section of parking system organizational structures with some focus
on cities in the Southeast. Included in the survey were:
• Birmingham, AL
• Charlotte, NC
• Jacksonville, FL
• Memphis, TN
• Miami, FL
• Nashville, TN
• Norfolk, VA
• Richmond, VA
• Portland, OR
• Tampa, FL
• Washington, D.C.
The information about parking systems in these cities was collected through internet
research and through direct contact with individuals responsible for or knowledgeable of
those operations.
The results of that survey are provided on the pages that follow, including a summary
grid of key organizational characteristics. The comparative cities are grouped according
to the type of parking organization.
• Association
• Authority
• City Department
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At present, conditions in Atlanta compare most closely to those in Charlotte and
Washington, D.C. where the municipality is has no significant involvement in providing
off-street parking. In both of those cities, parking associations have been initiated in an
effort to provide some consistency in parking services and identification. Carl Walker is
presently working with City Center Partners in Charlotte on formalizing a parking
association that consists, primarily, of parking operators and major property owners who
have parking operations on their downtown properties. The Downtown Improvement
District in Washington, D.C. is also currently in the process of examining parking
conditions and looking for ways to provide better communication and service within the
District.
The definitions of the parking systems include:
Group I - No Municipal Off-Street Parking Program
This group includes cities that do not have any significant municipal involvement
in off-street parking for public use. Both of the cities surveyed are looking to a
local parking association as a means for improving planning and services related
to parking. Other cities with large municipal off-street parking operations or
parking authorities also have active parking associations, but a parking
association or collaborative is the only identifiable organization related to off-
street parking in the two cities surveyed in this group.
Group II - Parking Authority
Municipal parking systems in this group are managed by a formal Parking
Authority, normally with oversight from a governing Board appointed by the
Mayor. The Parking Authority may be self-supporting with excess revenues
flowing to the municipality or retained by the Authority as capital for the future
development of parking resources.
Group III - City Parking Department
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Cities in this group have formal parking departments that are responsible for off-
street parking facilities owned by the municipality, whether those facilities are
operated by municipal employees or by private parking management firms under
contract with the City.
B.1. Group I - No Municipal Off-Street Parking Program
Washington, D.C.
Of the cities surveyed, Washington, D.C. has conditions that are most similar to Atlanta.
There are no municipally owned parking facilities available for public use but the
extensive on-street meter program is managed by the Curbside Management Division of
the DC Department of Transportation's Traffic Services Administration through a
contract with a private on-street parking management firm. The City and the contractor
share meter and fine revenues. The District was the pioneer in initiating the public-
private meter management program in the late 90's, the first "municipality" to engage a
private firm to operate and maintain its on-street parking meter system.
No official website is available to provide general information about parking in the
District.
According to a study by the Mayor's Parking Taskforce in 2003, there are approximately
400,000 parking spaces in the District of Columbia. Approximately 260,000 of these are
on-street spaces and, of these, 16,000 are metered.1 The District of Columbia has
approximately 140,000 parking spaces in off-street parking lots and garages, with the
majority of the off-street spaces located in parking garages in the Central Business
District. Most parking facilities not owned by government agencies are privately owned
facilities that serve specific properties or provide parking for the public in general.
The study conducted by the Mayor's Parking Taskforce in 2003 addressed a number of
issues related, primarily, to management of on-street parking. Accommodating and
managing on-street parking in a city with such a large residential component was a key
issue, but there was also significant concern about the lack of short-term parking and a
lack of consensus on parking requirements or limits for new development.
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Incentives for Short-Term Parking
At the time of the study, a program was already in place to provide tax incentives to
parking facility operators as an incentive to offer short-term parking in their facilities.
This is highly unusual since short-term parking is normally the most profitable
component of the parking mix for parking facility operators. The tax incentive provided
a revenue guarantee to offset any potential loss of revenue to the operator between the
revenue generated from all-day parking vs. what is generated by short-term parking.
The study cited a "dramatic" increase in the availability of short-term parking for DC
retailers as a result of this policy but recognized that the gain in short-term parking also
reduced the availability of employee parking in a market where any category of parking
is already scarce.
The study included recommendations for increases in parking rates, increases in parking
fines, expansion of the meter enforcement period, and commitment of meter and fine
revenues to operating costs of the system, with any remaining revenue dedicated to
neighborhood-based transportation improvements.
In 2005 the Downtown Improvement District solicited proposals for a new parking study
within the District to address ongoing parking issues. That initiative is pending.
Charlotte, NC
The City of Charlotte does not own or operate parking
facilities for public use but, like the District of Columbia,
engages a private firm under its "PARK IT!" program to
operate and maintain an on-street meter system that
includes approximately 1,000 spaces.
Parking meters accept quarters, dimes, nickels and the
"Charlotte Coin" which is a token that can be issued by
businesses to offset the cost of customer parking at on-street
meters. Meters rates vary by location. Meters located in high-
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demand areas are $1.00 per hour ($0.25 per 15 minutes) and those located on the
perimeter of the downtown area are $0.50 per hour.
Meters are enforced from 7 AM to 6 PM Monday through Friday except for holidays, but
meters on South Boulevard are enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Enforcement
officers for the PARK IT! program have the authority to either boot or tow repeat
violators with three or more unpaid tickets remaining unpaid for more than 90 days.
The PARK-IT program includes a website that explains the program and regulations for
the on-street system.
All off-street public parking is privately owned and operated. Charlotte Center City
Partners, a non-profit organization dedicated to promotion of the Charlotte Central
Business District is presently evaluating ways to create a parking collaborative to support
downtown development goals. The central purpose of the collaborative would be to
provide a means for establishing a common system for parking facility identification and
standards for parking facility operation. It has not yet been determined how the
collaborative will be organized or funded and several options are being considered.
B.2 Group II - Parking Authority
Birmingham Parking Authority
The Birmingham Parking Authority was incorporated in 1972 by
State of Alabama statute to provide and manage public parking
facilities in the City of Birmingham.
The Authority currently manages 11,305 parking spaces located
in 11 parking garages and 2 surface lots. The Authority also
won a bid to manage the parking facilities serving the
Birmingham International Airport a number of years ago and
has continued as manager of those facilities.
The downtown on-street parking system is managed by the
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City's Traffic Engineering Department. The system includes 5,100 parking meters with
enforcement performed by 9 parking enforcement officers.
Parking Authority of the City of Memphis and County of Shelby, Tennessee
The Authority, which is a function of the Center City Commission, is generally known as
the Downtown Parking Authority (DPA). It is governed by a seven-member board
chartered by the State of Tennessee and appointed by the Mayor.
The DPA is designed to establish uniform
parking policies and coordinate parking
management of municipally owned parking
facilities in Downtown Memphis.
The DPA conducts strategic planning for
the placement of municipal parking
facilities in Downtown Memphis and issues
bonds for construction, but it contracts with private parking companies for day-to-day
operation of its 5 downtown parking structures. The DPA also monitors parking
conditions in the downtown area by tracking rates and occupancies of other Downtown
parking lots and structures.
There are approximately 40,000 parking spaces in the Central Business Improvement
District. Of those, 3,700 are located in the municipal garages.
The City's 1,200 parking meters are the responsibility of Traffic Engineering within the
City's Engineering Division, but enforcement of meter violations is the responsibility of
the Police Department. Time limits for meters range from 30 minutes to 2 hours and all
meters are $0.50 per hour. Parking at metered spaces is free after 6 P.M.
Responsibility for collection of fines rests with the Traffic Violations Bureau operating
under the office of the City Court Clerk. A portion of fines collected go to the Memphis
and Shelby County Health Department to provide child safety seats to indigent parents.
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The source of this revenue is the payment of fines on tickets issued for violations of the
seat belt ordinance.
Miami Parking Authority
The Miami Parking Authority, officially known as the
Department of Off-Street Parking of the City of Miami,
was created in 1955 by a Special Act of the Florida
State Legislature and incorporated into the City of
Miami's Charter in 1968. The Authority is governed
by a voluntary five-member Board of Directors with
powers and responsibilities similar to board members
of private corporations. The City of Miami Commission
retains final authority to confirm appointments to the