TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Adam Lindsay, Assistant City Manager
Jeff Yates, Assistant City Manager
FROM: Sheila Thomas-Ambat, PE, CCM, CFM, Public Services Director
Brian McGill, PE, PTOE, City Traffic Engineer
DATE: June 3, 2024
RE:
Title
Fayetteville Downtown Parking
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
District 2
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Goal II: Be a responsive city government supporting a diverse and viable economy.
Goal IV: Be a highly desirable place to live, work, and recreate.
Goal VI: Have a collaborative citizen and business engagement base.
Executive Summary:
Council has requested staff review information surrounding the City’s parking program related to operations between the hours of 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Using values from the 2023 calendar year, approximately 19% of daily parking transactions occurred between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM, amounting to a total of $30,438.55 in payments based on information provided by the parking enforcement consultant. For just the Fiscal Year 2023 period, the total functional revenue was enough to fund the contract services for parking operations, but not debt services. Budget and finance numbers from previous fiscal years indicate that the parking program operates in a deficit and requires subsidization from the general fund for debt servicing. This is more readily apparent in the attached documentation of this administrative report. Finally, the Franklin Street Parking Deck observed 9,091 parking transactions in the 2023 calendar year and collected $22,166.00 in parking fees. A more detailed breakout of the 2023 operations of the Franklin Parking Deck is attached to this administrative report.
Background:
It is staff’s understanding that Council has expressed interest in the possibility of revising the termination of paid parking from 7:00 PM to 5:00 PM. It is also staff’s understanding that Council has requested the finances surrounding the Franklin Street Deck for the Fiscal Years of 2020, 2021, and 2022. This administrative report discusses a summary of parking operations between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM, as well as the Franklin Street Parking Deck financial health.
Paid Parking Hours: As of May 2, 2022, the current hours of enforcement for paid parking are Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Paid parking is not enforced overnight, or during the weekends. We do enforce parking during special events, which have special event rates. These special event rates do not apply to on-street parking. Our parking enforcement consultant, Reimagined Parking, provided staff with calendar year 2023 data related to operations for Franklin Street Deck, Hay Street Deck, and On-Street Parking Operations. This data is summarized below for calendar year 2023.
• Of the over 86,000 vehicles that paid for parking between on-street and both parking decks in calendar year 2023, over 16,800 vehicles (approximately 19%) of parking transactions occurred between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM, amounting to $30,438.55 in total payments.
• Of the 75,326 on-street parking payments, 15,139 (20%) were made between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM, amounting to $25,724.55 in total payments.
• Franklin Street Deck had 9,091 parking transactions during the calendar year of 2023, with 1,322 (15%) made between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM, amounting to $3,275.00 in total payments.
• Hay Street Deck had a total of 2,205 parking transactions made, with 389 (18%) made between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM, amounting to $1,439.00 in total payments.
Based on financial information provided by the budget department, current parking fees and penalties do not support both operations and debt for all parking services. For just Fiscal Year 2023, the finances surrounding the parking program was as follows:
• Total Functional Revenue: $720,494
o Parking Fee Income: $552,044
o Parking Violations: $122,783
• Total Downtown Parking: $794,366
o Total Contract Services: $554,062
Paid parking has many benefits that may not be apparent to opponents of the practice. The two largest reasons to support paid parking enforcement is to support customer turnover for businesses, and to better support the funding and finance of infrastructure.
When parking is free, vehicles can park in prime locations that would benefit high-turnover businesses, such as a restaurant, which can lead to fewer customers overall frequenting an establishment. Staff understand that there is an argument to be made that having any paid parking is a discouragement to customers when compared to free parking. Practice has shown that paid parking provides an incentive for customers to conduct and conclude their business in the often-limited space of downtown eateries and shops, and make the space available for new patrons and future customers to utilize.
The financial health and funding of infrastructure throughout our City is often challenged. The need is great, however the funding opportunities are limited. While the maintenance of parking facilities and on-street parking is a goal to make Fayetteville a more desirable place to live, work, and recreate, many think these spaces should be “Free Parking” as they have “already paid for them through taxes”. While many parking spaces may be paid for as part of larger roadway projects, or development projects, having a usage fee shifts the financial burden away from the City and towards the users. The taxes that the City collects can be more heavily distributed towards more pressing needs, as the parking fees collected can be focused on maintenance and operations of the facilities.
The hours of parking enforcement were previously reduced in 2022 from 9:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Should the hours of parking enforcement be reduced further, it can be expected that the City would have to provide greater subsidization of parking operations through the general fund, and that the fees collected may not be enough to support operations.
Franklin Street Parking Deck: The Franklin Street Deck funding and development agreement is attached in support of this administrative report. The debt for this parking deck is scheduled to be paid off in August of 2025. A more detailed breakdown of expenditures surrounding the Franklin Street Deck is attached, with a summary as follows:
• Fiscal Year 2021
o Total Income: $63,786
o Total Expenditure: $188,294
• Fiscal Year 2022
o Total Income: $72,626
o Total Expenditure: $153,605
• Fiscal Year 2023
o Total Income: $46,100
o Total Expenditure: $147,781
• Fiscal Year 2024 [Projected]
o Total Income: $56,000
o Total Expenditure: $235,159
Financial information for Fiscal Year 2020 is not available at this time from the budget and finance department. Based on the information provided by the parking enforcement consultant for the calendar year of 2023, the Franklin Street Deck observed 9,091 parking transactions. These transactions collected a total of $22,166.00 in parking fees. For a more detailed breakdown of operations, please see the “Franklin Street Parking Deck 2023 Metrics” attachment.
Issues/Analysis:
N/A
Budget Impact:
N/A
Options:
N/A
Recommended Action:
N/A
Attachments:
Franklin Street Parking Deck Funding and Development Agreement
Parking Fund Activity
Franklin Street Parking Deck 2023 Metrics
Fayetteville Downtown Parking Presentation