Is there a parking shortage in Downtown Santa Cruz?

“Current parking supplies exceed demand. In aggregate almost thirty percent of off-street parking in the Downtown remains empty even at the peak of the peak times.”  -Nelson\Nygaard, Downtown Santa Cruz Economics of Parking Study (2017)

The graph at right shows occupancy at the Front St. Garage is highest from 1-3pm on weekday afternoons. On weekends, there is a large amount of excess capacity. Othere garages have the same pattern. City staff report that at weekday afternoons when the Locust St. Garage is near capacity (pre-pandemic), 60% of the parked cars are permit holders.  To better manage permit parking, Siegman recommends: relocating permit parking away from high demand areas; pricing parking for availability; and giving commuters incentives to use alternative modes.

Even with the surplus of vacant parking spaces at peak times, visitors to Santa Cruz may have trouble finding a parking space if they don’t know where to look. That’s why the consultant, Kimley-Horn, advised the City to implement technology that allows drivers with smart phones to locate vacant parking spaces.  (City Planning Commission, 10/15/2015)

What is the historic trend in parking demand Downtown?

“Downtown Santa Cruz parking demand is down 10% from its peak in 2008.”  -Patrick Siegman

The City has conducted a peak parking survey each year. In 2008, total occupancy  of public & private spaces was 84%. In 2018, peak occupancy was 71%.

Cities across the US are experiencing declining parking demand due to Uber & Lyft.

Is more parking needed to offset the loss parking as surface lots get developed?

What about increased parking demand from new development?

“What we see from the model is…the City Council approved price increases will reduce demand enough, so that even with new development and the loss of some surface parking spaces, you’ll still have a surplus  -Patrick Siegman

The graph shows a loss of 235 surface parking spaces due to development.  Future increase in demand due to development is offset by drop in demand due to price increases adopted in 2018. So in spite of loss of surface parking and new development, Siegman projects a sizeable parking surplus.

There are long waiting lists for a monthly permit. Shouldn’t we build more parking?

It is an economic fact of life that there will be a waiting list for available spaces if they are offered at a discount. Discount permits are a way to avoid the $10 daily cost of parking in a garage. Paying by the day for 20 work days per month would cost a worker $200.

The City’s current cost of supplying a parking space Downtown is $175 per month. ($6,200,000 annual expense of the Downtown Parking District divided by 2950 spaces.)  The cost of supplying a parking space would increase with the construction of a new garage. Annual debt service plus maintenance and administration would be over $2 million per year, adding roughly a third to the annual budget.

It is not financially sustainable to build new parking in order to supply parking spaces at a deep discount to everyone who desires it. Sooner or later, the Parking District will need to raise parking prices to meet the actual cost of supplying the parking. The era of deep discounts would be over. Ironically, the high price of parking will reduce demand, leaving stranded assets of vacant concrete structures. Nor is it a climate-friendly goal to subsidize parking.

Is the Campaign for Sustainable Transportation opposed to constructing any new parking Downtown?

No. Private developers will continue to build parking in their buildings. We are opposed to the City investing in increased parking capacity, since the consultants agree that the solution is better managment of existing parking. We have suggested that the City consider building ground floor parking on lots the City develops for affordable housing.  That would provide nonprofit developers with reduced costs and would preserve customer parking in that section of Downtown.