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File Number: 16-253 <br />development of the Washington Plaza Shopping Center, the City, Safeway and the center's <br />owner (currently Regency Centers) executed an agreement that governs maintenance and <br />operations at the site. That agreement mandates that the City -owned lot offer free parking. <br />Because these parking areas tend to be the most desirable for employees and visitors of <br />Downtown businesses, usage of paid parking at on -street meters and in the Estudillo Garage <br />has been limited. Moreover, employees of retail businesses in Washington Plaza are parking <br />in short-term parking areas and moving their cars every two hours to avoid citations (two-hour <br />shuffle). Some employees have developed their own warning systems to alert others of <br />parking enforcement activities or even go so far as to wipe off chalk or devise other means to <br />avoid parking citations in direct violation of city parking regulations. As long as employees can <br />continue this practice without fear of significant enforcement, the paid parking facilities will <br />remain underutilized and shoppers will face parking shortages near businesses. <br />Safety: Another challenge is personal safety and the perception of a safe environment in the <br />downtown. In order to use the Garage and on -street parking, parkers need to feel safe <br />walking to those locations. Lighting and security improvements can help to ensure that this is <br />not a significant impediment. <br />Technology Challenges: The payment and enforcement technologies that were implemented <br />concurrent with the opening of the Estudillo Garage have not gone as planned. Enforcement <br />staff has had difficulty effectively using the mobile License Plate Reader (LPR) systems and <br />the operator of the Garage payment system declared bankruptcy and ceased supporting the <br />system in 2015. A transition to more effective systems will be critical to improved operations. <br />Need for new administrative and payment processes: There is limited staff and financial <br />resources available and no one "official" City staff person dedicated to parking. Therefore, it <br />is recommended that solution sets should be developed that make it simple to perform <br />administrative tasks and handle payment processes. Simplicity is important not only for the <br />City staff, but also for stakeholders who rely on parking resources in the project area. <br />Recommendations <br />Based on the analysis and outreach described above, the draft DPMP recommends the <br />following implementation steps: <br />• Adopt the six DPMP Guiding Principles <br />• Refine organization structure: Staff is currently exploring options including, but <br />not limited to, using a parking consultant to assist in providing centralized <br />coordination of parking operations. <br />• Simplify Parking Time Stays and Update Pricing: Consistent with the Guiding <br />Principles, the report recommends the following steps: <br />o Prioritize parking for residents in residential areas. Consider implementation <br />of a residential permit program in the areas impacted by BART parkers. A <br />Residential Parking Permit area is a neighborhood zone where on street <br />parking is restricted. RPP programs are developed as a tool to balance the <br />needs of all who park on our streets, including residents, visitors and <br />commuters. <br />o Prioritize retail parking for shoppers and visitors. The best spaces should be <br />City of San Leandro Page 4 Printed on 5117/2016 <br />