City considering parking garage for Downtown Kirkland
We all know that parking in downtown Kirkland can be a royal pain. If you happen to arrive at the wrong time, you are hard-pressed to find anything available. The recent influx of downtown residents has only exasperated the parking issue. The City is asking for input in an online survey about structured parking. Please take a few minutes and complete the online survey. As an incentive, at the end of the survey is a code that entitles you to $2 off at the Kirkland Wednesday Market.
Different Perspectives and Different Needs
The issue of parking can enflame the emotions of even the most docile among us. Perhaps this is because there are so many different stakeholders, each with unique needs:
- Business owners need access to parking for their customers;
- Shoppers want convenient parking lest they choose to shop elsewhere;
- Downtown residents need parking for themselves and their guests;
- Environmentalists want to promote public transit and to change people’s driving habits;
- Property owners need to provide parking for their tenants.
Parking requirements limit the types of redevelopment options that smaller property owners can even consider. Take, for example, the smaller property owners on the west side of Lake Street. The zoning for this area says that buildings cannot have higher than two floors. Property owners must provide parking for their buildings. Given these zoning restrictions, redevelopment will not be feasible at many of these properties. The only option available for redevelopment will be to sell to a larger developer.
Parking Options for Downtown
If the City of Kirkland is dedicated to improving the retail environment in downtown, then parking will need to be a part of the solution. Improved parking availability, convenience, affordability and location are all elements of a successful parking strategy. There are three basic strategies that the City could pursue for building structured parking:
- city owned parking structure - either above grade or below grade;
- city + private land owner partnership;
- rely solely on private landowners to provide for downtown parking needs .
How should such options be financed? Should the City taxpayers finance the construction of parking garages? Should there be some sort of a local utility district to pay for such parking? Are there other options?
What should be the goal of the City with regard to parking downtown? Should the goal be to improve access and availability to parking? Or, should the goal of the City be to discourage use of automobiles in the downtown core and make non-automobile transportation options the highest priority? The answer to these questions is the key to what will happen next. Each course will have profound impacts on the future vitality of our downtown core.
It would seem that in order to improve downtown retail, parking must be both abundant and convenient. Healthy retail requires nearby parking. If the goal is to have a downtown filled with economic vitality then parking is the key.
Robert Gibbs, a retail consultant who helped develop Kirkland’s downtown plan, presented his thoughts as a part of the Kirkland Lecture Series on January 24, 2008. His presentation entitled, “New Trends in Town and City Retail Commerce“ was excellent. There is much for Kirkland to learn about improving the retail environment in our downtown. You can watch Gibbs’ presentation on the City website at http://kirkland.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=13&clip_id=1051.
Bicycle parking lot in Amsterdam
Paid Parking
Movement is afoot to make parking in urban areas more available, more in line with market forces, and… more expensive. Concepts like “Market-Value Pricing” and “Efficiency Congestion Parking” are in favor with economists and urban planners alike.
Many of downtown the Kirkland business owners think that pay parking is a bad idea. Comments often heard are, “The customers will go to Bellevue Square or Redmond Town Center”, or “The City is just after more revenue.”
However, multiple parking experts say that when parking is crowded, as it often is in downtown Kirkland, parking should be “priced” accordingly. And that means paid parking.
Recent parking proposals for Kirkland have discussed using paid parking primarily a rationing tool. Only secondarily, if at all, is it meant for revenue enhancement. Robert Gibbs agrees that pay parking is called for when it is too hard to find a space.
Increased Capacity
Since paid parking is used as a rationing tool when supply is limited, should we increase supply so we no longer need to ration it? If shopper can’t easily park near downtown retailers, how much longer will they continue to shop in downtown Kirkland? Both Bellevue and Redmond provide ample free parking for their shoppers. A healthy and vibrant downtown retail environment benefits all of Kirkland. Boarded up storefronts and struggling retailers hurts us all as well.
Parking is a complex issue. Nobody want to pay for parking and nobody wants to pay for building parking lots. This is our situation today. You can help shape tomorrow by participating in the City’s online survey on parking.
Graphic from recent parking study of available sites for additional parking (McLeod is no longer an option)
QUESTION: Where do you think the City should build a structured parking garage? After you have taken the City’s online survey, cast your ballot for the location you think is best for a future structured parking garage. Here is your opportunity to participate in our online poll. Let us know which alternative you would like to see for the future of downtown parking.
Loading ...Additional Reading on this subject:
UCLA Prof. Donald Shoup is acknowledged for his work on pay parking: http://goodspeedupdate.com/2008/2186
William Vickrey, winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics: http://www.vtpi.org/vickrey.htm
Time Magazine mentions Shoup and Vickery: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1641244-1,00.html
A local perspective with sustainability as a goal: http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20010626&slug=durning26
Well researched Rob, you’re blog is turning into quite a resource for those citizens that want to remain informed and active in their community.
I revieweed The High Cost of Free Parking by Shoup and found TONS of facts and information that I didn’t realize or recognize - like the total (unnecessary) mileage spent looking for a parking place (nearly a million miles per year!)
Again, good info for all of us.
John
Great overview. I did a large project for a non profit looking at how we can make our transportation system more sustainable. I specifically focused on parking and kirkland was one of the cities that we worked with.
Kirkland is unique for an eastside city in that it has an alive downtown that isn’t centered around a mall. Because of that we face parking issues much more like seattle (ballard comes to mind). Just like ballard it is hard to find along the main streets but if you go a few blocks in the right direction there is lots of parking.
I don’t think that a publicly funded parking garage is the answer. The city should not be using its money to provide free parking. I think the solution will involved an increase in capacity but must also include pricing.
I think that the park place redevelopment is our best chance to address this problem. Because the peak parking demand for mixed use development is usually during the day (caused by offices workers) there will be excess parking during the afternoon and evening when most people find it hardest to find parking.
Adam P.,
In your parking study, you say you looked at Kirkland. Did you also look at other cities nearby? I am curious how Kirkland matched up and what issues are similar/different from other cities.
Also, you say you think Kirkland needs increased capacity but also pricing. Why do you want parking to cost money to the shopper? Why can’t that cost be with the merchant (and indirectly paid by the customer)? By having so called “free” parking, Kirkland could better compete with Bellevue and Redmond.
If you are interested in parking studies here is one Redmond commissioned that came out in January of this year which is very interesting and shows their support for trying to rely less on parking and to increase the number of bike and carpool trips. https://ci.redmond.gov/connectingredmond/studies/pdfs/parking/AssembledReport020108Exec.pdf
Gives detailed breakdowns of the number of parking spaces throughout the city.
Here is the overview of the study Bellevue did in 2004 http://www.cityofbellevue.org/citygov/CityCouncil/pdf/PA_01262004_3e1_ESS.pdf
Hope these help.
DowntownCondoDweller,
Great resources, thanks for sharing them with the rest of us.
Cheers,
Rob
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Thanks for the great information and letting everyone know about the survey Rob.
The traffic and the time it takes to actually get into downtown Kirkland at peak times is enough to keep many people away already - add in pay parking and it may keep even more away.
I would encourage the City to look at the greenest alternatives possible, but also realize that many people do not and will not ride a bike, take public transportation or walk more than a block or two from their car to a shop or dine out.
PS - I love the downtown parking garage already in Kirkland and think it would be cool if there were a couple more around town.
Thanks Rob, great article.
I am grappling with parking at the moment from the perspective of reducing the damand for travel by car, and trying to find economic reasons for having parking, and I am actually having trouble finding it except annecdotal reasonaing, especially from retailers. It surprises me that retailers argue that they have to have parking outside their shop, and yet don’t want paid or even timed parking. However, the only use of a parking spot outside their shop is if a customer uses it, and then leaves it straight away, that is the time limit for that car park should only be as long as a customer is usually in the store, otherwise its pointless. For example, a two hour park outside a store without pricing is likely to be used for its maximum time - therefore in a 10 hour period only five vehicles will park in that spot and if the retailer is lucky one of those people will actually be going to their shop.
I also find that I notice shops and what they sell much more as a pedestrian than a driver - I’m usually looking for a park while driving, hence retailers should be trying to maximise the amount of foot traffic past their shop. At 50 people per hour (and that’s light foot traffic) that is 500 people walking past the shop compared to the 5 vehicles parked in front of the shop - I know which one I want. For building owners its the same - in Wellington New Zealand the properties with the highest rentals are those with the highest foot traffic past them, and they therefore contain the best shops. This actually makes the offices in the area also more attractive as the employees have better access to better shopping at lunchtime and after work within close range. Oh, and apartments are now being built in the area as well - with limited parking. Public transport runs through the middle of this area, while parking is on the outskirts. This all adds up to a low parking, high foot traffic meaning a better economic, shopping and working environment for everyone. However, this is still an anecdotal observationw ithout any hard facts to back it up - which I am now looking for.
Goodluck.
P.S. Look to the water. I noticed from a map I saw on this website that the city has great water frontage - from my “observations” a city that faces it water and encourages its visitors to walk, shop and eat along it is a much more attractive city than those that don’t.
Andrew,
Thanks for your comments from NZ. Believe it or not, Kirkland has many similarities to Wellington. Of course, we are tiny in comparison, but we have a pedestrian-oriented downtown on the waterfront. My wife and I recently visited NZ on our honeymoon and we made note of the spectacular civic buildings and public walkways you have on along the water. You also have a tad more wind than we do here. ;-)
Robert Gibbs is an excellent source for retail strategy and he makes arguments for having parking on the street in front of retail. I highly recommend you watch this video of a talk he gave to citizens of Kirkland:
http://kirkland.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=13&clip_id=1051
Best of luck with your transportation issues.
Cheers,
Rob