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<br /> 21 <br /> <br />Table Table Table Table 2.102.102.102.10: Hypothetical : Hypothetical : Hypothetical : Hypothetical OOOOnnnn----Street Parking FStreet Parking FStreet Parking FStreet Parking Feeseeseesees <br />Existing off-street fees <br />Fees <br />Location Monthly Hourly Daily max <br />Water Street Lot (no new monthly parking) $150.00 $2.00 $16.00 <br />Water Street Garage (monthly parking available) $115.00 $1.50 $12.00 <br />Market Street Garage (waiting list) $130.00 $2.00 $16.00 <br />Hypothetical on-street fees, and how they would affect commuters <br />Hourly rate $0.50 $0.75 $1.00 $1.25 $1.50 <br />Hours per day 8 8 8 8 8 <br />Days per month (allowing for absences) 17 17 17 17 17 <br />Monthly cost $68.00 $102.00 $136.00 $170.00 $204.00 <br />At $1 per hour, becomes cheaper for commuters to park off-street. <br /> <br />2.4.4 Summary of Options and Recommended Strategy <br />There are two options for Charlottesville’s future downtown parking strategy: <br />Option 1: Make the recommended changes to parking space designations, as described <br />above, and retain free on-street parking. The recommended changes will address many of the <br />existing concerns about downtown parking. The cost will be small (mostly signage, striping and staff <br />time). However, retaining free parking means that the City does not gain the ability to manage on- <br />street parking availability through a price mechanism. It also means that enforcement is the only <br />available mechanism for discouraging the two-hour shuffle. <br />Option 2: Make the recommended changes to parking space designations, as described <br />above, and move to a more pro-active model of managing downtown parking, including <br />charging for on-street parking in the Core Zone and Inner Zone. This is more complicated to <br />implement and would require an up-front investment in ticket machines or meters. However, it <br />would provide a revenue stream to fund parking management and potentially other downtown <br />enhancements; would provide a way to manage on-street parking availability, thus ensuring that <br />drivers can find a space easily; and would discourage commuters from using on-street spaces that are <br />needed for shoppers and visitors. <br />In a busy, desirable downtown such as Charlottesville, with limited parking supply, it is difficult to <br />provide both (a) free parking and (b) assurance that customers and visitors can always find a convenient <br />space. Charging for the most convenient spaces provides the most effective tool for managing the system <br />and ensuring spaces are available. There are also other reasons for considering charging: it would provide <br />a revenue stream to fund parking management and potentially other downtown enhancements; and <br />would discourage commuters from using on-street spaces that are needed for shoppers and visitors. <br />However, the Stakeholder Group believes that introducing charges for on-street parking is not realistic in <br />the current economic situation. <br />The City should nevertheless try to make progress toward more pro-active management of downtown <br />parking. Parking enforcement should be seen positively as an important means of making the best use of <br />downtown parking spaces for shoppers and visitors. An important initial step should be to bring <br />enforcement under the same roof as traffic engineering, as part of an integrated management structure <br />for on-street parking. This would not only help to ensure an appropriate level of enforcement, but also <br />allow the ‘ambassador’ or ‘welcome’ role to develop.