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From:
Pro-SF [mailto:home@prosf.org]
Sent:
Wednesday, October 14, 2009 12:19 PM
To:
home@prosf.org
Subject:
SFMTA: Extended Parking Meter Hours Map/Study: Higher Meter RatesEncourage Faster Shopping = More Customers
 
Pro-SF Taxpayers Open Government Archivehttp://www.scribd.com/Public%20Records%20Information%20Clearinghouse 
Address: 250 Ashbury St. SF 94117: Ehome@prosf.org: 
Supporting Freedom of Information, GovernmentTransparancy & Accountability. Providing Public Information To The Taxpayers/Residents of the City and County of SanFrancisco
From:
True, Judson [mailto:Judson.True@sfmta.com]
Sent:
Tuesday, October 13, 2009 1:33 PM
To:
True, Judson
Subject:
**Press Release--SFMTA Releases Extended Parking Meter Hours Study**
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Tuesday, October 13, 2009Contact: Judson True415.606.9281 (cell) judson.true@sfmta.com
***PRESS RELEASE***SFMTA Releases Extended Parking Meter Hours Study
 Agency Proposes Meter Operation when Parking Occupancy is High to Create Parking  Availability and Increase Economic Vitality 
San Francisco—
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) todayreleased a study on extending parking meter hours of operation. The study includes aproposal to extend meter hours in the evenings and on Sundays when and wherewarranted by high parking occupancy and when a significant number of businessesare open. Extended meter hours would make it easier for business customers to findparking and would improve Muni’s speed and reliability by reducing congestion andillegal parking.“This proposal for extended meter hours fits into a larger vision of the SFMTA’s overalltransportation and parking policy goals and furthers San Francisco’s Transit Firstpolicy,” said Nathaniel P. Ford Sr., Executive Director/CEO of the SFMTA. “Parkingmeters create parking availability and they support economic vitality by helping
 
business customers find parking when they need it.”In May 2009, as part of budget discussions with the Board of Supervisors and theMayor’s office, the SFMTA initiated a study to refine an April 2009 proposal to extendthe hours of meter operation to 10 p.m. citywide Mondays through Saturdays and tooperate parking meters from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. The study was intended tobetter match when and where meter hours are extended with when and where parkingis difficult to find in commercial areas.This study includes a survey of other jurisdictions’ practices, a review of previousreports on parking in the City, and the collection of new data on parking occupancylevels, business hours of operation, stakeholder concerns, and residents’ opinions.Using this study, the SFMTA has developed a proposal for extending metering hourswhen and where warranted, specifically:
•
Sundays: Establish metering hours from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. citywide (instead of  10 a.m.).
•
Mondays through Saturdays: Operate parking meters until 6 p.m., 9 p.m., or midnight when and where parking demand warrants (rather than 10 p.m.citywide):
o
Extend meter hours until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until midnight Friday through Saturday at 59 percent of metered spaces.
o
Extend meter hours until 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at 23 percent of  metered spaces (leaving Monday through Thursday until 6 p.m.).
o
Extend meter hours until midnight Monday through Saturday in areaswhere parking availability is low throughout the week, which is 17percent of metered spaces.
o
Operate meters Monday through Saturday until 6 p.m. at one percent of metered spaces.
•
Rates: Retain current rates (but use demand-responsive pricing in SF
 park 
pilot areas).
•
Time limits: Establish 4-hour parking time limits after 6 p.m. and all day onSundays.“We do not have a one-size-fits-all solution to San Francisco’s parking challenges,”Ford added. “Our approach is based on extensive research and includes outreach todozens of stakeholders, including businesses. We know that this study will engender significant discussion and feedback from elected officials and the general public. Wewelcome that discussion. We believe that the excellent work that went into this studywill elevate San Francisco’s always passionate debates about parking.”This proposal is based on the following study findings:
 
•
Demand for on-street parking is high in the evenings and on Sundays, which results in parking occupancies that are often higher than 100percent due to illegal parking. It is hardest to find available parkingspaces after 6 p.m. and on Sundays, when parking at meters is currentlyfree and unrestricted.
•
When San Francisco’s meters were first introduced in 1947, manybusinesses kept traditional hours, usually from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.,Mondays through Saturdays.
•
Today, many businesses are open late in the evening and all day onSundays, which creates demand for parking at times when parkingmeters do not currently operate.
•
Many cities and towns around the country operate their parking metersMonday through Saturday until 10 p.m., midnight, or 2 a.m., as well ason Sundays.
•
Parking availability is the aspect of parking that San Francisco residentsvalue most highly. Cost, though not unimportant, ranked fifth (out of nine) as a concern.
•
A plurality of residents supports metering in the evenings and onSundays if meter revenues are used to improve pedestrian and bicyclefacilities and Muni service. Residents who never drive or drive rarely aremore likely to support extending the hours than those who drivefrequently.The study also makes additional recommendations, based primarily on the feedbackgathered in surveys and stakeholder interviews:
•
Improve the availability and marketing of SFMTA Parking Cards to makeit easier for drivers to pay for parking and avoid parking tickets.
•
Offer residents who live adjacent to commercial corridors the option toextend Residential Parking Permit (RPP) enforcement hours to reducepotential parking “spillover” in their neighborhoods. Hours of RPPenforcement could either match or extend beyond metering hours.
•
Review metering hours at least every two years using 85 percentoccupancy as the criteria and adjust metering hours as necessary toachieve availability goals.
•
Reduce hourly meter rates in SFMTA parking lots when and whereparking occupancy does not exceed 60 percent and consider 
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