Walnut Creek parking committee to create downtown plan

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Jun 3, 2009 | by Elisabeth Nardi

To deal with parking woes in downtown Walnut Creek, city and business leaders and residents gathered Monday to toss around ideas ranging from discount parking for residents to the ability to allow cell phones to pay for parking.

Monday was the first step in the formation of the city's new Task Force on Parking Management. When Mayor Gary Skrel was first appointed at the beginning of the year, he asked that the task force be formed. He put Councilman Kish Rajan in charge of the task force to create a plan to better manage downtown parking.

The task force is ramping up just as scrutiny of parking is increasing because of the ongoing Neiman Marcus planning process. Opponents of that project fear added development will affect downtown, especially parking.

City leaders hope the parking task force can help dispel the perception that there isn't enough parking in Walnut Creek.

At Monday's meeting, the consultant firm -- which did a 2006 downtown parking study -- presented its findings once again. The biggest message for Walnut Creek: Uncontrolled parking issues and no real plan to deal with them could spell disaster for a vibrant downtown.

The study found there is plenty of parking in the city's core downtown, but much of it is in the large garages. Because the on- street spaces fill up quickly, the perception is there is no parking, said Jeffery Tumlin, with Nelson Nygaard Consulting.

"It's not how many parking spaces you have, but a parking management problem," he said. "If you built 10 more parking structures but kept the parking management the same, you would still have the same problems."

The study's suggestions range from increasing meter rates, which the city did in 2007, to allowing the staff to change pricing based on market conditions and extending meter hours. A similar plan was floated last year but was later pulled from council consideration after the economy started floundering and business owners balked at changes that could mean losing customers.

But the ideas have been around for four years, and only a few have been implemented.

Rajan said some ideas have been around awhile, but an overall plan needs to be formalized.

"We didn't want to piecemeal it together -- that would bring the most confusion," said Rajan.

Tumlin said the biggest thing the city needs to do is depoliticize the price of parking. He cited other cities where parking prices are changed by a committee or city staff depending on what the market demands -- that means the price of parking goes up and down. Other hurdles include employee parking and creating a cohesive consumer friendly plan when there are numerous private and public lots throughout the downtown that range in price.

The nine- person task force will be made up of two council members, business leaders and two residents. Any recommendations from the task force will eventually end up in front of council and the public, Rajan said.

"It's important to have a diversity of viewpoint and we don't want it to be a group that has a predetermined point of view," he added.