Could Residential Permits Solve Neighborhood Parking Problems?

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City staff want to know if neighbors think residential permits will solve problems with limited parking in areas like Gerstle Park and Montecito.

In a study session on Monday, city staff discussed the feasibility of a permit program to help residents find parking in their own neighborhoods, instead of having to hunt for a space. Council members decided they wanted more feedback from communities that suffer the most from limited parking, like Gerstle Park and Montecito.

Gerstle Park, located near , and Montecito, located near the , both experience commercial and commuter spillover that can limit the amount of available parking spaces for residents.

With the SMART train coming to downtown and future growth, the area’s parking situation could get worse, according to Michael Iswalt, a senior engineer at San Francisco-based consulting firm Arup.

A permit program would entail all-day parking for permitted vehicles with short-term parking allowed for those who don’t live in the area. Parking districts would be created through surveys and studies, and a set number of permits would be set to each household. The majority of the households would have to opt-in to the program and guest permits would also be sold.

Start-up costs include paying for and installing permit signs in neighborhoods (approximately $350 per sign), while paying for maintenance and the personnel to enforce and issue permits would be ongoing. Residents would pay $40 a year for parking permit, while parking citations are approximately $35, according to Iswalt.

In order for the program to become self sustaining in five years, neighborhoods would have to have a high rate of participation and permits would eventually have to increase to $95 per year with a one-time start-up fee of $150 and parking citations would have to be around $55, Iswalt said.

Palo Alto launched a similar permit program in a neighborhood with 900 residents clustered in a 0.3-square-mile area. Stanford University funded the start-up costs, but first year revenues were lower than the city estimated. So the permit went from $15 to $40 per year.  In Marin County, Mill Valley and Sausalito both have parking permit programs.

“It’s hard to know how these programs are doing now, since no one has really gone back to analyze the programs once they start,” Iswalt said.

Parking enforcement is currently focused on downtown San Rafael, and the Council debated whether a permit program would solve the problem for limited parking in the surrounding neighborhoods or just move the problem to another area.

“Getting a parking permit doesn’t guarantee you a parking space. It gives you a hunting license to find one,” City Manager Nancy Mackle said.

Residents questioned if permit fees would increase if the amount of citations, a revenue source for the city, went down due to the program.

“It sounds like it’s a lot of problems for the solution,” San Rafael resident Don Magdanz said.

San Rafael Police Chief Diana Bishop also brought up the personnel who would be needed to enforce violations. “At what point are we losing enforcement in other areas?” she said.

Others found contention with the two to four hour limit for non-residents parking in neighborhoods. Jackie Schmidt lives on Grand Avenue where parking overflow comes from the nearby shopping center. Many employees are encouraged to park in her neighborhood so they can leave spaces open to potential customers.

According to Schmidt, many Montecito neighbors work from their homes and parking problems will only get worse with the coming downtown SMART train station that will be built blocks away.

“A two hour limit is not the solution,” she said.

Mayor Gary Phillips requested that Iswalt and city staff contact several San Rafael residents to evaluate if they would support an opt-in permit program before the Council considers conducting a study.

“A successful program has to solve a problem, not just be cost neutral,” Councilman Andrew McCullough said.

Do you think your neighborhood needs a parking permit program? Tell us in the comments.

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