City Council Minutes 2013 06 18 - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes June 18, 2013 Page 8 of 12 Council member Jasiak asked Planning Director Russ about the discussion of striping South Street to provide diagonal parking, which would increase the number of spaces. Planning Director Russ explained the Public Works Department discussed this option with the South Street residents on the potential of putting diagonal parking west of Main Street to Grant Avenue. In their evaluation it was determined there were too many driveways, which access South Street, and therefore the benefit of diagonal parking was compromised by driveways and the net gain would be marginal. Many of the driveways west of Main Street have alley access as well as street access. Diagonal parking east of Main Street works as a two way, which was a key recommendation in the parking plan. The Public Works Department is looking at the resurfacing program to tie parking to the gateway project scheduled for next year. Public Works will go back to the neighborhood, with the results of the study, which calls for two -way diagonal parking east of Main Street and maintaining parallel parking west of Main Street. Council member Jasiak thanked Ms. Hontein for her comments and stated she shared her concerns. She noted it is not a 12 -night Street Faire issue and agreed a solution must be found. City Manager Fleming noted the South Street Gateway underpass will open up pedestrian access to the east side of the tracks. The City is actively looking for ways to increase parking availability as part of the development of the area, and to provide a safe crossing over Highway 42 to the Sports Complex parking. He asked Planning Director Russ to address the Parking Study. Planning Director Russ explained the Planning staff will be updating the 2009 Downtown Parking Utilization Study. The study will be conducted in July and repeated in November. The study area will be expanded to include the RM zoning district and Jefferson Avenue (larger portion of Old Town) to better understand parking demands being placed in residential areas. The study will follow the methodology established in 2009. Staff will count the number of cars parked hourly (8 am to 8 pm) in Downtown and at three different times (9 AM, noon, and 6 PM) in the surrounding neighborhoods. The study will document parking conditions on Tuesday - Wednesday as well as Friday - Saturday. The intent is to understand the utilization of parking. He noted there has been no additional development in the downtown area, other than The Rex rooftop. The Downtown Parking Utilization Study will illustrate the peak parking demand for Downtown's current square footage, and reflect very different data than 2009. This update will quantify parking utilization rates of both the public (on- street and off) and private parking surface lots serving Downtown Louisville. Any additional square footage in the downtown area will illustrate the fee in lieu of parking is ridiculously low at $3,500 and does not truly pay for a parking space. The results of the Parking Utilization Study Update will be used to inform parking policy discussions with City Council and the Planning Department will make recommendations on modifying the code, if necessary.