EVERETT — Parking scofflaws take warning.
The city of Everett may soon beef up parking enforcement of its free on-street parking spaces downtown.
It may also ding violators with increased parking ticket fines and eliminate a popular program that allows forgiveness for early payments.
These are a few key recommendations in a forthcoming study that aims to guide city officials as they plan for the future of downtown parking, and attempt to drive downtown office workers to park in garages to free up spaces on the street meant for customers. There is no recommendation to bring back parking meters yet, but the consultants suggest increasing penalties and adding parking enforcement officers.
“It’s important to have vigorous enforcement,” said consultant Clark Worth with Barney &Worth Inc. of Portland, Ore. “No parking management system downtown will work without enforcement.”
The firm was hired last year to complete the $100,000 study, which is expected to be finished next month.
As it stands, parking enforcement downtown is woefully inadequate, Worth said.
While most spaces in the downtown core are time-limited, hundreds of people flout the rules, according to a survey of downtown Everett’s 2,000 free on-street parking spaces.
The survey was taken on a weekday in November “Disney on Ice” was running at the 10,000-seat Comcast Arena at Everett Events Center.
The consultant counted 800 cars that parked in downtown spaces long after time limits expired. Only 30 parking tickets were written that day in the city’s core.
That doesn’t surprise Councilman Arlan Hatloe, who thinks the city’s parking enforcement division needs to be overhauled.
“In the last couple of years it’s been a joke,” he said.
Every workday, hundreds of downtown office workers play the same cat-and-mouse game with what on many days is a lone parking enforcement officer.
Employees at downtown businesses and government offices took up nearly half of the available free on-street parking spaces during the day, even though there are ample parking spaces in off-street parking lots and garages downtown, the study concluded.
The biggest trouble spots were along Colby Avenue, around the Snohomish County government campus and near the events center.
Computerized scanners that allow parking enforcement officers to more efficiently read license plates and record the time and location of parked cars could help parking enforcement officers do their jobs better, city engineer Ryan Sass said.
So could increasing their ranks. The city has four parking enforcement officers.
The consultant also found Everett’s fine structure is lax compared with similar sized cities.
In Everett, people can have up to three $20 parking tickets every year reduced to $5 each if they pay within 24 hours.
That’s cheaper than it costs to park in some garages.
“The fine system is definitely something we have to address, because right now, getting a fine is almost a bargain,” Sass said.
While competition for downtown spaces is intense, plenty of parking spaces remain available in off-street lots and garages.
By 11 a.m. on the survey day, 85 percent of free on-street parking was occupied, the consultant found. In the meantime, 72 percent of downtown’s 5,700 parking spaces in paid garages and lots were full.
Worth, the parking consultant, said the city should consider adopting lower monthly rates at its parking garages to help low-wage and part-time downtown workers shoulder the cost of parking. Some of downtown Everett’s largest employers, including Snohomish County, do not offer free parking for employees.
The city’s Everpark Garage on Hoyt Avenue now charges between $55 and $75 a month per space.
Renee Quistorf, owner of the women’s clothing boutique Renee’s on Colby Avenue, pays $125 a month for herself and an employee to park at Everpark Garage. She also offers customers free parking passes when on-street spaces are full.
“I would like everybody to help out their employees like that,” she said. “In the long run, it could pay off if spots are available for the customers.”
Other findings of the study include:
A recommendation to standardize time limits to 90 minutes or 2 hours. Downtown now has a hodgepodge of time limits, including 10-, 15-, 30- and 90-minute spots, plus others that are one and two hours.
Expanding a permit parking program to downtown’s periphery.
Improving signs for public parking garages.
Planning for a new public parking garage. The consultant anticipates the combination of downtown growth and the loss of spaces from development will require a new garage in three to five years.
Creating a downtown parking authority to manage parking and help dedicate parking revenues for downtown enhancements.
Whether Everett brings parking meters back to its downtown depends on several factors, including housing and commercial development and the success of retail businesses.
“Ultimately if Everett’s downtown continues to be successful, it will need paid parking,” Worth said. “But that’s not on the horizon right now.”
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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