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8A Page 13 Although we have a sizable surplus, it doesn't always feel like we have a parking surplus. On- street spaces on Broadway, which are the most desirable spaces in the district, are at or near 100% occupancy all day long. This means that people who really want them probably cannot get them. However, right around the comer, within a very comfortable walk, there are usually plenty of empty spaces. Does this mean we have a shortage (as the motorist may perceive it) or a management problem? At night, the crunch is amplified. All meters shut down at 6:00 P.M. and time limits are unenforced. On many evenings this makes sense. There,is no competition for parking, so there is no need to manage it. However, when there is significant activity at the Fox Theatre (currently our main nighttime activity generator) Broadway and all side streets are filled to capacity. The Winslow Street Lot (behind Pizza and Pipes) is completely filled. Meanwhile, two blocks away, on-street spaces sit empty, and the Marshall Garage sits nearly empty. Due to the lack of parking management, prime spaces near the Fox are more congested during the evening, despite the fact that there are fewer cars in Downtown competing for them. Why is this? Parking management compels people to distribute themselves away from prime parking areas and encourages parkers to leave quickly, freeing their space for the next person (this is referred to as "turnover"). Market-rate pricing (the adopted parking management strategy for Downtown Redwood City) does this by making people pay for prime parking (which deters employees from sitting there all day) and by luring bargain hunters away from the core with better deals in garages and peripheral areas. Without these mechanisms in place, parking congestion will (and does) occur, no matter how many parking spaces there are. The Parkina Situation After the ODenina of "On Broadwav." After the "On Broadway" retaiVcinema pr6ject is completed and open for business, demand for parking will rise appreciably. In addition, the nature of that parking demand will change. While there will still be a major spike of activity at the noon hour on weekdays, the new peak of activity for Downtown will be 8:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. on Fridays. According to the "On Broadway" EIR, there will be a public parking deficit of 29 spaces at this time. Since the completion of the ErR, however, the City has entered into an agreement with the County of San Mateo which will allow the general public to use their large garage at Middlefield Road and Bradford Street during Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays, and some weekday evenings. This agreement has brought an additional 797 spaces into the Downtown public parking supply during the new peak period of activity-exactly when we need them. Adding these spaces to the public supply creates a surplus of 768 spaces during the new Friday evening peak. With a sellout show at the Little Fox, that surplus drops to 688 spaces. Even with simultaneous sellouts at the Little Fox and the main Fox Theatre-a rare occasion-there would still be a surplus of250 public parking stalls in the Downtown core. "P'~e G h . ~. - . ",,-"--'.., "-". . ~-'-_..-..., '-''''--'-'''' --'''--''-''.-. -"-- - . ..-.-"---. ._-_ ..__. .'.___ -~~._..__._~.._.._ ___h_ _.. --_._"-..^.__.-.,..~.--,~-~-'"-_..-,--~----_...,,-~-----~.. "