HomeMy WebLinkAboutINS-15-090 - Support to Downtown Businesses During Light Rail Transit Construction Staff Rport
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REPORT TO: Finance & Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING: October 19, 2015
SUBMITTED BY: Justin Readman, Director of Transportation Services
(519) 741-2200 ext. 7038, and
Rod Regier, Executive Director of Economic Development
(519) 741-2200 ext. 7506
PREPARED BY: Paul McCormick, Manager Parking Enterprise
(519) 741-2200 ext. 7155
WARD(S) INVOLVED: Ward(s) 9 and 10
DATE OF REPORT: October 7, 2015
REPORT NO.: INS-15-090
SUBJECT: SUPPORT TO DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES DURING LIGHT RAIL
TRANSIT CONSTRUCTION
RECOMMENDATION:
That free evening and weekend parking within Downtown City-owned surface lots
be approved as outlined in Options 2 and 3b of Infrastructure Services
Department report INS-15-090 effective through to the anticipated completion of
ION Light Rail Transit construction in 2017.
BACKGROUND:
The Downtown Business Improvement Area (BIA) approached the City of Kitchener to
see how the two organizations could work together to encourage customers to come
downtown despite the challenges caused by detours and road closures due to ION Light
Rail Transit (LRT) construction. One solution that has been agreed to is a two month
pilot project to provide 2-hour-free-parking passes for use at the Charles & Benton
garage. However, staff has also calculated the impact to provide extended free evening
and weekend parking solutions within city-owned surface parking lots until the end of
the LRT construction period to help encourage customers to continue to come
downtown.
It is estimated that approximately 207,000 customers use the surface parking facilities
each year in downtown Kitchener. Of these, close to 30,000 customers use the surface
parking lots on Saturdays. The two surface lots in proximity of the Grand River Hospital
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is not included in the downtown Kitchener lots and will not be impacted by the
recommendation within this report.
REPORT:
Parking customers are charged for the use of surface parking from 8 am to 6 pm
Monday to Saturday. Parking garages operate and charge for fees 24 hours per day
Monday to Saturday. On Sundays, parking is provided free of charge all day in both
surface lots and garage facilities.
For a number of years Economic Development has subsidized three (3) hours of
surface parking from 6 pm to 9 pm Monday to Saturday to encourage customers to do
business downtown. The estimated value of the three hours of subsidized parking was
$222,528 in 2015 payable by Economic Development to the Parking Enterprise.
Parking is an enterprise at the City of Kitchener and all parking discounts or incentives
are to be subsidized in order for the enterprise to recover its revenue. The following
options are being presented for consideration until the LRT construction is completed in
2017:
Option 1 - Status Quo; no changes made to the current parking rates and subsidy
amount.
Option 2 — Extend Weekday Evening Parking; the weekday evening subsidy be
extended by one additional hour from 5 pm to 6 pm.
Option 3a — Flat Rate Saturday Parking; a flat rate user fee (i.e. one fee to park all
day) be implemented in surface lots in the downtown on Saturdays instead of an all-day
subsidy putting less strain on funding. A flat rate user fee is a different payment method
compared to the existing time based user fee (i.e. pay by the hour) currently
implemented in surface parking lots and garages.
Option 3b — Free Saturday Parking; provide free parking all day Saturday to
encourage customers to do business downtown.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Strategic Priority: Strong and Resilient Economy
Strategy # 2.5 — Facilitate the ongoing development of Downtown Kitchener as the heart
of the city.
Strategic Action: # 17 Special Events and Urban Vitality Strategy.
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FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
Option 1 — Status Quo
There are no additional funding requirements.
Option 2 — Extend Weekday Evening Parking; Staff estimates the impact of providing
an additional free weekday evening hour (5-6 pm) would result in a loss of revenue of
approximately $33,000 annually + H.S.T.
Option 3a — Flat Rate Saturday Parking; Staff estimates the impact of providing a flat
fee of $2.00 on Saturdays would result in a loss of revenue of approximately $32,000 +
H.S.T. annually.
Option 3b — Free Saturday Parking; Free Saturday parking in surface lots would result
in an additional loss of revenue of approximately $85,000 + H.S.T. annually
Discounted and/or free parking is an economic development incentive and should be
accounted for as such, with provision being made in the Economic Development
Reserve. If this initiative were to continue beyond 2017, permanent tax supported
operating budget funding would need to be approved.
In addition, if Option 2, 3a or 3b is chosen there is also a one-time expense of
approximately $10,000 + H.S.T. to reprogram the pay & display machines and to update
parking lot fee signage, which will also be recovered from Economic Development.
For clarity, should Council approve the recommendation outlined within this report, the
annual funding requirement is $118,000 + H.S.T. plus a one-time fee of $10,000 +
H.S.T, which is to be funded from the Economic Development reserve.
Revenue in garage facilities will likely be reduced as parking customers use the cheaper
alternative. However, the impact at this time is difficult to quantify and these amounts
have not been taken into account above.
Citizens may express concerns regarding parking fees when they are reinstated after
the completion of the LRT anticipated in 2017.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
INFORM — This report has been posted to the City's website with the agenda in
advance of the council / committee meeting.
COLLABORATE — The BIA approached the City to see how the two organizations could
work together to encourage customers to come downtown despite the challenges
caused by detours and lack of access to some parking facilities.
ACKNOWLEDGED BY: Jeff Willmer, Chief Administrative Officer
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