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6.1.A. SR 11-20-2006 Item Description Consider Downtown Parkin Item Number 6.1. A. Prepared by Scott Clark, Community Development Director Reviewed by City of Elk River REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Agenda Section Meeting Date Community Development November 20, 2006 Introduction On September 18, 2006, the City Council directed staff to prepare a report on parking issues in the downtown area. Attached is a memorandum dated November 15,2006, which frames the issues and can serve as a discussion outline for the Council. Discussion The attached memorandum identifies three distinct redevelopment time periods that need to be addressed, since each phase generates different policy issues. These phases are: Phase I Present time through the completion of the new redevelopment Phase II The time period running from the opening of the new residential units and leasing of the new commercial spaces, which will put additional pressure on downtown parking Phase III The time period that will run from the construction and opening of any future redevelopment project. The purpose of this meeting is to have the Council establish a "series of assumptions" that will serve as a foundation for future parking recommendations, and then develop a working community focus group to establish working solutions. Financial Impact None established at this time. Attachments . Memorandum dated November 14,2006 . Staff Parking Meeting Minutes-October 19, 2006 . Memorandum from Chief of Police Jeff Beahen to Scott Clark Re: Downtown Parking-October 17, 2006 . Memorandum from Heidi Steinmetz to HRA Re: Parking Lot Task Force Recommendations-June 6, 2005 . Email to Heidi Steinmetz from Wendy Simenson . Downtown Parking Analysis-October 19,2006 . Downtown Parking Map-October 2006 Action Requested Staff recommends that the City Council establish an advisory focus group, consisting of both existing downtown business owner, representatives from the new redevelopment project, and staff in order to establish long-term parking solutions. In addition, staff is also recommending that the existing downtown parking policies, regarding enforcement and parking permits, be reviewed with possible modifications. Council Action Motion by _ Second by _ Vote Follow Up S:\Community Deve1opment\Scott Clark\Downtown Parking\ll 2006 cc memo.doc MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Scott Clark, Community Development Director DATE: November 14, 2006 SUBJECT: Consider Downtown Parking Analysis Recommendations Introduction On October 19th and November 13th, 2006 the following staff members met to prepare a report for the City Council on parking issues in the downtown area: Scott Clark, Terry Maurer, Jeremy Barnhart, Jeff Beahen, Cathy Mehelich and Heidi Steinmetz. (Minutes attached) . In discussing parking issues there are three distinct redevelopment/development phases that need to be addressed. These are as follows: (a diagram map illustrating the same is attached.) . Phase I-present time through next summer/fall when all of the existing new construction is complete. The City is currently having all contractor parking occurring on the north side of Highway 10 which appears to be working well. The primary parking stress appears to be on employee parking and from time to time, contract parking, but overall customer parking seems to be adequate. . Phase II- this time period will run from the opening of the new residential units, and more importantly, the opening of the new commercial spaces in the Jackson Place and the Bluffs of Elk River projects ( summer of 2007 running until full lease up which could take two years). As this time period progresses new customer and residential parking demands will compete with the existing commercial and office employee parking demands. The lots across from Highway 10 will be open at this time to customer and employee parking. . Phase III -this time period will run from the construction and opening of any future redevelopment project (which could be new construction or the repositioning of an existing business into a more intensive land use from a parking perspective.) Downtown Parking Recommendations ~oveD1ber15,2006 Page 2 Phase I Issues Current issues center on parking enforcement policies and the strong demand for employee parking permits (currently approximately 340 active permits are in place for the available 87 King Ave. employee parking stalls). It is anticipated that the Bank of Elk River parking lot could be complete by early 2007 which would free up some demand in the King Ave lot. Staff Recommendations 1) 2) Immediately stop issuing any more employee and resident parking permits for the King Ave. lot until #2 below is completed. Chief of Police Jeff Beahen lead a team (composition to be determined) to review existing policies (specific to enforcement and permitting) and develop advisory modifications to the same. As part of this meeting's discussion staff is seeking Council's desire to review these items and to establish any broad guidelines that should serve as a framework for discussion (e.g. abandoned vehicles and level of enforcement). Phase II Issues Staff is of the opinion that before any solutions for future physical parking modifications, infrastructure improvements, or related parking concerns can be developed, key assumptions need to be agreed upon. Put in another way, the City council needs to agree on what problems needs to be solved for. The following is a list of issues and observations that the group discussed that can serve as a source of reference for the Council's discussion. The central policy issue for the Council is "what is the City's obligation to provide public parking, at what cost, where, what percentage, etc.?" based on the changing demands. 1) The demand on downtown parking has shifted from a high demand for customer parking to employee parking. This has been caused by a number of past customer driven businesses, i.e. grocery, hardware, theatre, and variety stores being "replaced" by office users such as financial centers, banks and conversions of buildings to small office space. 2) Due to the phenomena listed in item # 1 the King Avenue parking lot has become primarily an employee lot with a ratio of 1.5 employee stalls for every customer stalls. (In addition, there are nine residential stalls for a grand total of 151 stalls.) 3) In most downtowns, a centrally located public parking lot is usually held for customer usage and employees park on the periphery of downtown. Does the council agree that this should happen and be a primary focus for future parking modifications? During Phase II the lots located north of Hwy 10 will be freed up from contractor parking. If the Council desires to move employees to the north side of Hwy 10 safety considerations and modifications will need to be made (Historically, the City once sold parking permits to downtown employees to park in this location). S: \Community Development \Scott Clark\parking paper.doc Downtown Parking Recommendations November 15, 2006 Page 3 4) There is an expectation by downtown merchants that customers should be able to park near their establishments. As the vitality of downtown increase this expectation does not seem to be a realistic goal. 5) There are a number of dynamic tensions that results in parking frustrations, some of these can be addressed and some can not. An example of this principle is that some businesses have private parking and others do not, meaning that they have to rely on the City "providing" parking for their customers, as opposed to those who pay to access private lots (i.e. Sunshine Depot block). 6) The creation of the new commercial spaces (20,000 sq. ft.) will result in not only an increased demand for parking but potentially could create relationship issues between existing owners and new owners. The two new projects are projected to have only about 40% of their commercial parking needs met on site. Staff views that it is critical to factor in a future parking load demand not only for the commercial but also the residential. With almost 100 new residential units (built at 50% on site parking per the City's old zoning requirements but reduced to 1.25 per new standards) it seems reasonable to expect that some type of overnight public parking will be needed, from time to time, for guests. 7) Parking demands at times will spike during the evenings or on weekends depending on activities at the new park. 8) What is the proper number of parking stalls for downtown? Should the City's goals be to satisfy only a "full capacity" factor, or should the City have a "bounce factor", e.g. 25% over a typical full capacity to ensure adequacy for special events, perception and allowance for new business and other market opportunities? Staff Recommendations 1) Council's modifications and agreement on the above assumptions. 2) An advisory focus group be assembled to discuss the actual solutions and develop recommendations to the City Council. Staff further recommends that the advisory group consist of both existing downtown business owners and representatives of the new redevelopment projects, and staff. The group's singular task would be to develop parking solutions based on the Council's assumptions, and eventually to have the same incorporated into the Comprehensive Downtown Redevelopment Plan, for Council's future action. Phase III Staff has explored the preliminary design and cost for a parking ramp to be constructed at the King Ave lot. City Engineer Terry Maurer estimates a parking ramp could cost in a range of $15,000 to $20,000 per stall. Additional factors to be considered: cost to acquire, S:\Cornmunity Development\Scott Clark\parking paper.doc Downtown Parking Reco=endations November 15, 2006 Page 4 relocate and remove existing businesses and buildings in order for a ramp to be designed efficiently. Staff Recommendations- Phase III issues can be addressed through: 1) The Downtown Redevelopment Plan Task Force that is currently being supported by the City Council and the Housing and Redevelopment Authority. 2) The specifics of future redevelopment agreements, modifications to City regulations and/ or conditions attached to a land use planning application. S:\Community Development\Scott dark\parking paper.doc Staff Parking Analysis Meeting Notes October 19, 2006 Present: Scott Clark, Terry Maurer, Jeremy Barnhart, Jeff Beahen, Heidi Steinmetz, Cathy Mehelich Not Present: Lori Johnson Discussion Notes: Phase I - now to mid-summer 2007 (to end of construction) Phase II - "new development" (12-18 months after construction) Phase III - the "next redevelopment" Issues: 1. Residents of Jackson/Bluff & guests 2. Park parking 3. What is the appropriate balance for Employees/Residents/Customers - King Ave. lot 4. What happens with Bluff/Jackson employees? 5. Permitting/Enforcement 6. Policy issue - "what is the city's obligation to provide public parking? zoning philosophy on new developments 7. Employee vs. Customer/Resident parking 8. Major improvements - pedestrian bridge/ramps 9. Policy/Philosophy - business & residents - some pay for private, some get "free" Phase I - According to Jeff, the King Ave lot is at full capacity infrequently and short-term. He believes there is not a problem now, but wonders about Phase II. Phase II - "We vs. They" issue Previous discussions and correspondence (City, HRA, staff, MetroPlains, River's Edge) vary with regard to the expectation if Bluff & Jackson employees (and residents) have access to King Ave lot via permits. Is the City ready to gravitate to placing a higher priority on availability of customer parking vs. employee parking? What is the appropriate balance and consider policy for the amount city should provide for - e.g. for 25% capacity or for full capacity? Parking ramp - cost estimate $15,000-$20,000 per stall according to Terry. History/trends affecting downtown parking: when Hwy 169 was opened to retail development as downtown businesses struggled, employees were able to park closer and closer to work and competition with customer parking as much an issue change from retail (customer) market to office (employee) and destination-oriented uses downtown Elk River is unique (from Anoka) - downtown dead-ends with limitations, cannot easily be expanded Staff Parking Analysis Meeting Notes October 19, 2006 Page 2 of2 changing dynamic of downtown to include a residential-base "pedestrian-friendly" downtown = a walkable downtown late 80's-early 90's the City enforced employee permit parking in lots north ofHwy 10. Historically the downtown businesses have guided and steered enforcement of parking, not the City. staff interpretation of how parking would be handled for recent developments o Bluff & Jackson ("shared" underground stalls for residents & employees, balance to be provided by available public stalls) o Bank of Elk River (at 50% required stalls, balance to be provided by available public stalls) o First National Financial Center (at 50% required stalls, balance to be provided by available public stalls) Phase II issues: Need to stay ahead of the inventory curve for future developments and in order to maximize the business opportunities for the new developments (Bluff & Jackson - may limit types of businesses that can locate if parking availability doesn't fit the business model criteria). Amount of parking/availability will drive the types of new businesses that occupy Bluff & Jackson. Research other cities: Chanhassen Hopkins Anoka Willmar Paynesville Stillwater Grand Ave. Options: . Either provide more stalls (buy & build) or to move employees (expectation to find remote parking). . Shuttle employees from north Hwy 10 lots or build ramp. . Countdown pedestrian crossings - issue is still getting system to interact with railroad. . Buy 3 homes on Lowell, create parking lot for employees until ready for redevelopment project that can justify building ramp (Terry's "simple" option). . Ruled out the option to convert to diagonal stalls north Main St. and east Jackson Ave per MSA (municipal state aid) requirements. . Move employees to north Hwy 10 lots - cheapest option but safety-issue . Moving employees doesn't solve the long-term parking issues (Phase II & II) without adding parking capacity (value of recent investments will be diminished without parking availability) . Would Anoka parking committee model work here? Importance to get buy-in from businesses on what happens going forward. Consider reinstating the parking taskforce. Bottomline: Move employees out and explore options to maximize customer parking. ~ River Police Department MEMORANDUM TO: Scott Clark Jeffrey A. Beahen, Chief of Police 10-17 -06 FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: Downtown Parking Attached is the current list of residential and business parking permits issued for downtown Elk. River effective today. As you can see, there are currently 339 permits issued for employees and 9 permits issued for residential parking. Some of these permits are duplicates, as the employee drives or own more than one car. Initially we set it up where only one permit was issued to each employee and they were responsible for transferring it from car to car. We discovered though, that in the world of multiple car families, the permit often left with another family member in one car, leaving the employee with the "spare" car and no permit. Issuing additional permits resolved that issue. The permits are issued upon request, there is no fee. Employees can either stop by here and get the application, we can mail it out to them or with the larger businesses - they have applications on hand to distribute to their employees. The completed application is returned to our office, the information is entered into our records database, and the permit issued is recorded and sent to the employee. The downside to our process is that there is no system of check and balance built into the permit system. We don't carry spreadsheets with us during parking enforcement times to compare permit numbers to insure that they match with the license number and vehicle. We have also never verified with the businesses that the permit and employee are still part of . that business. We have put our faith into the business community and we rely on their honesty to self police the permit process. There is no indicium that this self-co!lstabularv process is not workin~. Alternatives would be charging a fee for permits to help cover additional staff time should we decide to monitor the permits more closely, re-issuance of the permits each year to promote greater accuracy in the process, or to actually follow-up on a frequent basis, with each of the permit holders or the businesses, to verify validity of each permit. Much like issuing license plates to vehicles, where the State issues the plate - the owner is responsible for putting it on the right car, and short of the occasional traffic arrest that occurs to a small percentage of all drivers here in the state, there is no other compliance policy in place to insure that the right plate is being used on the right car. The trust is placed upon the vehicle owner to use the plate in the right manner. We currently spend approximately 4 hours a day chalking tires, checking to see if the vehicles have moved, and then issuing tickets and following up on those tickets with the appropriate reports and data entry. The two employees who enforce the downtown parking, have an average wage of $20.62 @ hour. That equates to a cost of parking enforcement in hourly wages at $21,444 a year. Kathy Anderson averages two new or reissued permits each week, and she is responsible for entering the permit data. She spends about one hour each week, updating or mailing out permits, for a yearly wage cost of $1,264. We have spent over $2,000 thus far on permits, our parking tickets are printed up at a cost of $480 each year, and there are additional costs for unpaid tickets, prosecution and court time and other related costs. On average though, the parking detail downtown utilizes $25,000 in employee time to implement, record and enforce the parking restrictions. Any changes to the current system, such as possibly ordering new permits and reissuing them in January, will incur additional costs. From a law enforcement stand, we dedicate a tremendous amount of our resources to an issue that is driven by space constraints, not scofflaws who violate the parking limits and utilize enforcement as a tool to insure parking space compliance. A perfect analogy to use would be a poorly designed road. We could post a very low speed limit sign and issue many speeding tickets ona roadway that was way too small, poorly designed and unsafe for passage to begin with, or we could fix the road. In this case, the parking situation and amount of spots is the concern, and the permitting and enforcement process is not the answer. I advocate changing either the way employees park downtown, or working to create additional space to alleviate the congestion and provide a long term solution to an ancient problem in our downtown area. Attachments: Residential and Business Parking Permits Summary ITEM # 5.1. MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: Housing and Redevelopment Authority Heidi Steinmetz, Assistant Director of Economic Development \JG DATE: June 6, 2005 SUBJECT: Consider Acceptance of King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force Recommendations Attachment . Final Report, City of Elk River King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force Process, LJR, Inc. Transportation Planners & Consultants, June 1,2005 Background The King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force was formed in December of 2004 and was composed of downtown business and property owners and one downtown resident. The purpose of the Task Force was to gather input on the following two issues: 1) Design of the King A venue Parking Lot 2) Parking enforcement of the King Avenue Parking Lot and how that relates to parking in downtown Elk River as a whole The meetings were facilitated by Lisa Raduenz of LJR, Inc. Transportation Planners & Consultants in order to provide an impartial viewpoint to the discussions. City Engineer Terry Maurer participated in the meetings in which design discussion took place and Police Chief Beahen participated in the meeting in which parking enforcement discussion took place. Issue The final meeting of the Task Force took place on May 5, 2005. A consensus of the Task Force regarding design input took place during the first three meetings. Construction of the lot commenced on June 1,2005. Ms. Raduenz has prepared the attached final report on the process that the Task Ferce underwent from January to May 2005. The Final Report includes the mission and goals as developed by staff and the Task Force, the membership, the monthly meetings and the Task Force recommendations. Consider Acceptance of King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force Rccommenda.tions June 6, 2005 HRA Meeting Page 2 of 2 Recommendation Following a presentation by Ms. Raduenz, staff recommends that the BRA. accept the attached King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force recommendations as listed in the attached Final Report submitted by LJR, Inc. Transportation Planners & Consultants. It is anticipated that the next step will be City Council consideratio],1 in July of a resolution establishing parking time limit zones within the downtown. Staff will recommend to the City Council that parking time limits not be enforced until Jackson Place and The Bluffs of Elk River are completed FINAL REPORT City of Elk River King A venue Parking Lot Task Force Process June 1, 2005 LJR, Inc. Transportation Planners and Consultants 1425 Sargent Avenue St. Paul, :MN 55105 651.227.1905 - phone 651.690.4094 - fax lirinc@aol.com T T.,.. -= Tramp'prt3lion Consultants and Planners ~ .I. I. IIi': TABLE OF CONTENTS Attachments: Monthly Task Force Meeting Agendas! Approved Minutes (January through May 2005) Table depicting examples of parking policy/enforcement from other communities Map of the King A venue Parking Lot site 1 City of Elk River King A venue Parking Lot Task Force Process Project Background The City of Elk River is in the process of redeveloping significant portions of the downtown area, with a specific focus on redeveloping a two-block existing commercial area in the heart of Elk River. A large downtown surface parking area located on Jackson Avenue adjacent to the Bank of Elk River that has been in existence for many years is one of the first areas of downtown Elk River that will be required for the redevelopment effort. Because parking is extremely important to the continued economic viability and stability of downtown Elk River, city officials were concerned that no net public parking loss should occur during the reconstruction period. The King A venue surface parking lot, located north of the intersection of King A venue and Main Street and south of Highway 10, was identified by city staff as an area that could be expanded to offset the loss of existing public parking spaces across the street from the "brick block" area. The lot is available for employees and customers of Jackson Avenue and Main Street businesses such as Kemper Drug, Elk River Meats and other nearby stores. Because of the proximity of this lot to existing businesses along both Main Street and Jackson Avenue, city staff identified the area as one that could be expanded to accommodate additional public parking prior to the beginning of the downtown redevelopment process. A number of issues were associated with the planned expansion of the King A venue parking lot. Among them was the issue of removing the former Municipal Utilities building to make room for additional parking, and the securing of a joint use agreement with the Elk River School District for adjoining street right-of-way usage. Parking lot design and enforcement concerns were also identified by city officials as issues that needed to be addressed prior to the expansion of the King A venue lot. In December 2004 the Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority established the King A venue Parking Lot Task Force. The mission of the group was to provide input on design and enforcement issues related to the expansion of the King A venue parking lot prior to its June 2005 construction date. City staff invited stakeholders from businesses and residences located near the downtown Elk River area to participate on the Task Force and set a series of meetings to conduct Task Force work beginning in January 2005 and ending prior to parking lot expansion in May 2005. This report outlines the issues studied by the King A venue Parking Lot Task Force, its membership and rec:ommendations made by Task Force members throughout the Task Force process. 2 King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force Mission and Goals At its initial meeting on January 4, 2005, the King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force agreed to the following mission and goal statements: Mission: The purpose of the King A venue Parking Lot Task Force is to gather design, operational and enforcement feedback from representative members of the downtown Elk River business and residential areas during the planning process for this new community amenity. Goals: (a) To plan for a parking facility in the downtown area of the City that meets the needs of the Elk River business community, local residential neighborhoods and visitors to the City. (b) To ensure that vehicle and pedestrian access to downtown businesses and the community in general is maintained throughout the King A venue parking lot reconstruction period. (c) To maintain a consistent level of parking availability within the downtown area that ensures Elk River economic health and recognizes future growth. Within the framework as stated above, members of the King A venue Parking Lot Task Force agreed to meet once a month (usually on the first Tuesday of the month, if possible based on members' schedules) for five months at 8:00 a.m. in the second floor conference room of the First National Trust Bank Center in downtown Elk River. Membership of the King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force King A venue Parking Lot Task Force members were mailed letters of invitation to participate on the Task Force in late November 2004. City staff developed a roster of potential Task Force participants based on where downtown properties were located in order to ensure adequate representation of downtown Elk River businesses. In addition, a citizen representative who lives near the downtown area was added to ensure residentia1/homeowner interests in the downtown area were represented. Members of the King A venue Parking Lot Task ~orce who volunteered to participate on the Task Force included: · John Anderson (Residential Representative) · Keith Holme (propertylBusiness owner, Kemper Drug Store) · John Houlton (President, 1st National Bank of Elk River) 3 . Dr. Tony Jarmoluk (Property owner, Dentist) Steve Johnson (Property owner, Antique Store Building) Fred McCoy (Business owner, McCoy's Pub) Ty Sunderman (Business owner, Dare's Funeral Home) . . . In addition to the Task Force members, other persons who attended the monthly Task Force meetings were City of Elk River staff Heidi Steinmetz, Assistant Director of Economic Development and downtown business owner liaison and Terry Maurer, City Engineer. Lisa Raduenz, Principal of LJR, Inc. Transportation Consultants and Planners, was retained by the City to convene Task Force meetings and consult on the Task Force process. Monthly Meetings of the King A venue Parking Lot Task Force Monthly meetings of the King A venue Parking Lot Task Force were designed to elicit a structured discussion of issues related to the reconstruction of the King Avenue parking lot, scheduled to start by June 1, 2005. Because of the myriad of issues related to the reconstruction of the parking lot, City Engineer Terry Maurer was asked to present plans for the parking lot expansion and a timetable for deliverables related to the reconstruction of the lot (i.e., building tear-down, pavement work, etc.) This information was provided to Task Force members in the January, February and March 2005 meetings in order to obtain the group's opinion of the planned parking lot reconstruction process and to ensure that enough time existed to make changes to the proposed timeline and work schedule if necessary . The April 2005 meeting was dedicated to enforcement issues in the King A venue parking lot once reconstruction was expected to finish, around July 4, 2005. Elk River Police Chief Jeff Beahen and the City's Director of Economic Development, Catherine Mehelich, both attended this meeting to answer questions from the Task F9rce members related to future parking lot enforcement and other traffic and parking concerns in the general downtown Elk River area. King A venue Task Force members were also provided information at this meeting about parking and enforcement issues in other communities with parking demand concerns around the Twin Cities, including Anoka, the 50th and France area of Edina, the Grand A venue area of St. Paul and downtown Stillwater. Once the enforcement discussion was completed, Task Force members made suggestions to Chief Beahen and city staff about possible changes to current city code and enforcement policies, both in the short (pre- downtown redevelopment) and long-term (post-downtown redevelopment). The final meeting of the Task Force was held on May 5,2005. At this meeting members of the King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force reviewed the group's recommendations for the King Avenue parking lot reconstruction process along with other recommendations for city parking and transportation concerns, both short and long-term. Signage for the new lot, once completed, was also discussed and a sample of signage the group preferred 4 was identified as a recommendation to the Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority (ERA). The group also agreed to and defined a specific area of the new King A venue parking lot to be utilized for employee parking only, and came up with recommended changes to the existing on-street parking time limits for public parking areas along downtown streets and along Main A venue in order to enhance parking opportunities for visitors and shoppers in downtown Elk River. The following schedule depicts general agenda items that were designated for each of the five meetings of the King Avenue Parking Lot Task Force between January and May 2005: January 2005: Overview, general layout and design, lot capacity issues (King Avenue parking lot expansion project) *Meeting held Tuesday, January 4,2005 February 2005: Employee and general public, disabled parking designations *Meeting held Tuesday, February 1, 2005 March 2005: Directional and lot signage, staging for reconstruction month *Meeting held Thursday, March 3, 2005 April2005: Enforcement policies, other communities' policies/enforcement *Meeting held Tuesday, April 5, 2005 May 2005: Final recommendations of Task Force to Elk River HRA and Elk River City Council. *Meeting held Thursday, May 5, 2005 More detailed information about each of the five Task Force meetings, including approved meeting minutes and meeting agendas can be found within the attachments at the end of this report. Recommendations of the Elk River Parking Lot TaskForce The Elk River Parking Lot Task Force came up with a detailed list of recommendations to the Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority (ERA) and the Elk River City Council. The recommendations from the Task Force were the result of discussions among members and responses from city staff about questions related to the potential parking and transportation/traffic demand in downtown Elk River, both in the short and long term. The existing City Code was also looked at as it related to parking and enforcement policies within downtown Elk River. There are four main areas of recommendations from the Task Force. For ease of identification the areas are broken down into the following categories: 5 · King A venue Parking Lot Reconstruction Proces · Traffic Control Measures · Public Policy · Signage The complete recommendations from the King A venue Parking Lot Task Force are listed below. King A venue Parking Lot Reconstruction Process · Ensure that the King A venue parking lot reconstruction process maintains access for both vehicle and pedestrian traffic in downtown Elk River. · At a minimum, maintain the same amount of public and employee post reconstruction parking availability as exists prior to the project reconstruction period. · Provide directional signage on the southwest corner of the lot (facing Main Street and King Avenue) that informs drivers and others about the process and depicts options for public parking throughout the reconstruction period. · Keep disruption to a minimum during the process by having delivery vehicles and other construction-related traffic drop materials outside of basic work peak hours (8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday). · Keep a portion .of the King Avenue parking lot open throughout reconstruction process whenever possible. · Provide communication updates directly to affected businesses and the general public about project length, expected date of lot reopening and other public information. . Overlay rock on the new asphalt to prevent skateboarders and other disruptions to the newly-paved surface. · Ensure that adequate lighting will exist in the parking lot before, during and after the reconstruction process for pedestrian/employee/shopper safety. · Enforce overnight and limited/disabled/no parking zone requirements throughout the reconstruction project in order to ensure sufficient short and long-term parking for visitors and employees. · Provide employee parking spaces during the reconstruction project at- other locations in downtown Elk River. 6 Traffic Control Measures · Determine if short-term traffic control measures may be necessary along Main Street during the reconstruction process to ensure orderly traffic flow (i.e., stop sign at King and Main or Lowell and Main). · Consider performing traffic counts at intersections along Main Street post- reconstruction to determine if long-term traffic control measures (i.e., 4-way stop or other measures) are warranted once the parking lot has been established. · Observe pedestrian crossing movements at signalized intersection of Highway 10 and Jackson Street to determine if pedestrians have enough time to . cross intersection. · Extend yellow striping along Main Street to increase visibility of pedestrian crossings at busy intersections along Main Street. · Consider a right turn lane off of Main Street onto Parish. The Task Force recognizes this is a difficult intersection, but feels the traffic here should be monitored closely, especially in lieu of future redevelopment in the area. Parking Enforcement · Designate sufficient short-term parking areas for downtown visitors and shoppers and sufficient longer-term parking areas for employees and sign appropriately. . Provide approximately 50 spaces for employee parking in the northwest quadrant of the reconstructed King A venue parking lot. . Provide employers whose employees are to use the King Avenue parking lot with numbered permits that hang from rear-view mirrors while parking in the lot. · Require employers to notify the Elk River Police Department if any employee parking permits are misplaced or lost/stolen and pay for replacement parking permits issued. . If employee parking becomes a problem or issue, convene a meeting with employers to discuss the concerns before implementing changes in policy. . Place signage in the newly reconstructed King Avenue parking lot denoting short- term parking time limits, designated employee parking areas and fines for abusing parking privileges. 7 · Enforce the 30 foot setback rule at intersection comers along Main Street to ensure driver visibility at comers in downtown Elk River. · Place ADA-required parking spaces near intersection comers wherever possible and feasible to increase driver sight lines at intersections. · Consider putting a current City employee on part-time duty for enforcement similar to what is done in other communities (Le., Anoka). · Consider an increase in parking fines once the King A venue lot is finished for violations of both short and long term parking areas in downtown Elk River. · Consider an increase in fines for overnight parking in downtown public parking areas that includes towing and recovery costs. · Consider adding warning signage. near Kemper Drug to require drivers to slow down when turning off of Highway 10 onto street in front of drug store. · Consider the installation of metered parking in selected areas of downtown if parking continues to be a problem after the King A venue parking lot is reconstructed. . Public Policy · Preserve to the greatest extent possible all on-street parking spaces that now exist in the downtown Elk River area because parking is an issue of economic stability and an adequate supply of public parking is a supportive environment for current and future businesses. · Establish a Downtown Transportation Advisory Board, which would consist of employer and resident representatives, to regularly review and provide recommendations to the Elk River City Council on transportation and parking issues in Elk River. This Advisory Board could be convened under the Police Chief as is done in other nearby communities (Le., Anoka). · Review and discuss changes to current City codes and regulations related to public parking and enforcement in Elk River. . Consider a comprehensive parking and transportation access study for the entire downtown area of the City once all redevelopment has occurred within the next two to five years. . Consider the cost of 'decking' the King A venue parking structure to increase public parking availability in the future. 8 · Consider adding pedestrian access from the King A venue parking structure (walkways through or between buildings) to Main Street businesses. Signage · Install permanent signage near the King A venue public parking lot that is up high and demonstrates where public parking exists to traffic traveling along Highway lOin both directions. The signage should be easy-to-read and, if possible, demonstrati ve of Elk River's past. Signage examples from other communities were provided to the Task Force as part of the final meeting in May 2005. The following picture depicts public parking signage from downtown Stillwater, Minnesota which Task Force members especially liked. The image is viewed as representative of the type of signage that members are proposing to the BRA and City Council for permanent placement at the King Avenue parking lot site, facing Highway 10 in both directions. Conclusion The King A venue Parking Lot Task Force is providing these recommendations to the Elk River Housing and Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and City Council as its response to the work performed by the Task Force at the request of the City. Parking in the downtown Elk River area is extremely important and vital to the economic vitality of the City and its residents and businesses. It is important to maintain a suitable level of short-term, long-term, employee and disabled parking for our citizens and visitors at all times. 9 I I I I !I I-~-~ -0 ~H_' IO~ <)>(f) I -t I' s::: 0 ~)> r=c fTlr r-t zr i ltI ::1::1" I ,-.. CD -t 9:! ~ I i21~i i ~ ::j ~ III '"., g I · ~ s::: ii ! I x - z I R"~ r'.-.- OZ 0 I ; !I=; I ;5ju Vi" .., ,I I Ii!~ I : g ~ ! 'h,. 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'," .. .' .," " I,', '," 'I: : ': -- . --'1--- ~ ' ' ' I' , "'<): ~ .lr--~-~f--I~"':-::'-:' ';-':'5.."~J':-}J0Ir:"l~1 ,,___ . __ ,___, g,~ 1- '. . ~ I I 122 - E ~ //: f !ll -1~ . , ___," ",_.;=J, ....~ I ~ g , ,Lj Vi ~:r ,i I I ',,,''',,: ~~-J ~ ," }JY ;j ~I I I ~ I I 12 zL'.J--I' ~ ~ I' ~ '; n j i ~ I I I I I · · I-l ____I , l I I I i-_uJ _J ~ i ). ---.--..1 ----.- -...."..1 1- / I i ! f 2'! ~ ze ~iB ID .. l! -1 ~ I!!i z o Iii ~g ~~ ;~ ~ ; r ~ i , I i I I i i I / ! i ! [~ ~ i ! , Page 1 of2 Steinmetz, Heidi ........~~~...INFORMA~ION.. From: Wendy Simenson [simen003@umn.edu] Sent: Monday, November 13, 2006 8:18 AM To: Steinmetz, Heidi; Mehelich, Catherine; Clark, Scott; chuckchristian@christianbuilders.com; Tamara at Avalon; scott@scottbreuerhomes.com; Laurie Beil; eracc@elkriverchamber.org; Roger Hebeisen; Tom and Sara Hartman; Dhein0219@aol.com; kemperdrugs; Iindbergl@aol.com; Clifford C. Lundberg; steve.Johnson@ix.netcom.com; Jim Boyle; a 1 battery@sherbtel.net; antdt@aol.com; markurista@coldwellbankervision.com; century21 er@aol.com; d _ru id@msn.com; tsunderman@ohalloranmurphy.com; doug .johnson. b4yq@statefarm.com; elkrivereye@mcleodusa.net; Wendy Simenson; TGardner24@hotmail.com; sherbcoab@sherbtel.net; vickis@AM- MTG.com; jsimpson@thebankofelkriver.com; Patti Hipsag; William Houlton; Ann Daly; Mikols3@aol.com; jan@carlsontravel.com; FRED MCCOY; seniorestatespecialists@msn.com; karenattia@bww.com; Laura Subject: Downtown Parking Assumptions Hi All, as you may recall, Elk River City Staff was directed to come up with some direction for downtown parking. Their work will be presented to the City Council at the Monday, November 20th meeting. At our Rivers Edge Meeting last week, Scott Clark explained that the first thing they have to do is come up with a list of assumptions dealing with parking in the King Ave lot. They will be addressing where customers should park and overflow from residents& guests from new developments downtown should park and where employees should park. I thought it would be helpful to them if the businesses could give them our list of our assumptions about downtown parking and specifically the King Ave Lot to combine with their list to present to the City Council. Please take a moment and write down what you see in the future parking plans as important to your business and email your ideas to Heidi Steinmetz, hstGioolGtZ@Gi,Glk:IiYGLUID,lJS For Example: From a Kemper Drug perspective, some of the outcomes we need to see are as follows: (if you agree with these or disagree you have to let City Staff Know! !) Plenty of Customer Parking Bus service in Elk River to solve part of the parking problem. Employee parking that is well lite and close for our employees to walk to when we close at 8PM. Lots that can be plowed out at night so no parking between 2AM and 6AM Finding more locations for parking downtown and if a ramp needs to be built that it not be built in such a way as to interfere with existing parking while it is being built. Please get your needed outcomes to Heidi by this Wednesday morning so they can get included in the list that City Staff are giving to the City Council for the Monday November 20th meeting, Thanks for your time! Wendy Simenson, Kemper Drug -------- Original Message -------- Sub,ject:Parking Phases Date:Thu, 9 Nov 2006 13:53:48 -0600 From: Steinmetz, Heidi <hsteinmetz@ci.elk-river.mn.us> To: Wendy Simenson <simen003@unm.edu>, <holmetwo@aol.com> Wendy & Keith, Below is an excerpt from Scott Clark's draft Council memo re: those phases I was telling you about regarding downtown parking. This is how staff framed their discussions for coming up with assumptions. 11/16/2006 Page 2 of2 On October 19th and November 13th, 2006 the following staff members met to prepare a paper for the City Council on parking issues in the downtown area: Scott Clark, Terry Maurer, Jeremy Barnhart. JeffBeahen, Cathy Mehelich and Heidi Steinmetz. (Minutes attached). In discussing parking issues there are three distinct redevelopment/development phases that need to be addressed, these are as follows: ( a diagram map illustrating the same is attached.) Phase I-present time running until next summer/fall when all of the existing new construction is completed. The City is currently having all contractor parking occurring on the north side of Highway 10 which appears to be working well. The primary parking stress appears to be on employee parking but overall customer parking seems to be adequate. Phase II- this time period will run from the opening of the new residential units, and more importantly, the opening of the new commercial spaces in the Jackson Place and the Bluffs of Elk River projects ( summer of2007 running until full lease up which could take two years). As this time period progresses new customer and residential parking demands will compete with the existing commercial and office employee parking demands. Phase III-this time period will run from the construction and opening of any future redevelopment project (which could be new construction or the repositioning of an existing business into a more intensive land use from a parking perspective. ) Heidi Steinmetz City of Elk River Community Development Department Economic Development Division 763.635.1042, direct 11/16/2006 Downtown Parking Analysis 2003 19-0ct-06 2007 Public parking Notes King Avenue Lot Jackson Ave Lot Provided 67 40 Provided 136 Street Parking Main North Main South Jackson west King West King East Lowell Avenue Total street 38 56 15 9 7 13 138 35 58 15 4 9 13 134 Private Required Provided Required Provided Difference "Brick" Block 115 0 115 0 115 SS Depot 74 0 74 0 74 Cinema 73 2 73 0 73 Bank of Elk River 36 55 36 55 -19 ER Bank expansion 30 30 0 ER Meats 45 0 45 0 45 Dares Funeral Home 33 51 33 49 -16 1st National Bank 59 130 59 104 -45 Jungle Salon 7 0 0 US Bank 9 12 0 Nadeau's 18 17 0 ER Utilities 6 6 0 Jackson Place Residential 32 units 40 40 0 Jackson Place Commercial 10,695 @ 5/1 000 53 12 42 Bluffs Residential 67 units 84 84 0 Bluffs Commercial 11,000 @ 5/1000 55 24 31 Park 50 0 273+245-475 398+270-747 Total (Shortage) or Surplus 43 (79) V lOS3:NNIW 'lI3:AnI )1'13: 1I3HOl:JO 900l DNI)J1IV d NMOlNMOa ::: >- ~ ;r: "- 0 ;r: E- <:.:: UJ 0 UJ Z >- N 0 e ",-' <:.::~ "'''' ::>-< -'-' oUJ -'-' ;r:O;d << E-E- M", "'''' ~5 "'- ~~ C1~ z- -'" :0<:", "'- (:jg <E- 0.0 z- E--' _:0<: UJUJ :0<:<:.:: UJ::> "'< "'z t.l <0. 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