AgdaPkt 2019-10-14 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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8.A. - Page 19 of 56 designer. This program could potentially be funded by RCIA assessment funds and would complement fagade grants proposed in policy consideration #3 and #6. 4) The City should ensure that trees along major Downtown streets are pruned upward from the bottom so they still provide shade but do not block retail store signs on all sections of the Downtown that require retail on the ground floor. Funding for this recommendation can be considered in next year's budget. (See examples in Attachment D that show how street trees block storefronts and signage.) 10. Expand parking availability. (Task Force recommendation) Analysis: Parking is important to retail vitality. Retail stores and restaurants need easy access to parking in close proximity in order to maximize sales. Based on retailer input when leasing space, each block, in a dense downtown like Redwood City, should be supported by a minimum parking ratio of 2.5 parking stalls for every 1,000 square feet of retail space on a block. Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Los Altos, and Burlingame have parking behind stores and restaurants located on blocks along the main streets of their downtowns. Retail customers will walk one block to a store while restaurant customers will walk up to three blocks. (See Attachment F: Parking Maps for Downtown Redwood City, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Burlingame, and Los Altos) Based on a cursory observation and count, there seems to be enough parking currently in the Downtown to support approximately 612,000 s.f. of retail/restaurant space. However, much of the available parking is not within the proximity requested by retail tenants. Retail tenants prefer parking near the main concentration of retail and restaurants so that parking stalls are conveniently located and available for patrons to use during daytime hours of operation. Restaurants and businesses located on Main St. between Broadway and Middlefield and the south side of Broadway between Jefferson and Main especially rely on parking spaces in the lot behind City Hall. 9 Parking counts completed in the summer of 2019 for spaces on Main St. between Marshall and Middlefield showed the following occupancy rates: • 64% of the spaces are used for less than one hour • 82% of the spaces are used for less than two hours • 87% of the spaces are used for less than three hours • Only 2% of vehicles used metered parking and were for the full day (See Attachment E: Main Street Parking Counts between Marshall and Middlefield) 9 Acknowledging that the City's downtown is adjacent to the City's transit center (bus/rail line), the City Council has also directed staff to analyze trips that do not involve driving to encourage people to walk more and use other multi -modal transportation options. Consequently public land used for parking (street or lot) may evolve over time and result in less parking. Another option is to use right-of-way for ride share uses that do not result in parking and give parking priority to people who truly have mobility issues. These proposed policies will need to be balanced with the desire to strengthen retail in the Downtown. 13 239