SUPPORTS ITEM NO.  2        
   T&T COMMITTEE AGENDA
   APRIL 22, 1997                       

                         ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

                                      Date: February 11, 1997
                                      File No. H626-2            
                                      CC File1307-1/5653-1   

   TO:       Standing Committee on Transportation and Traffic

   FROM:     General Manager of Engineering Services, Director of
             Human Resource Services, General Manager of Corporate
             Services, and General Manager of Community Services.

   SUBJECT:  City Hall Pay Parking Proposal to Reduce Auto Commuting


   RECOMMENDATION

        A.   THAT the implementation of a pay-parking program for
             employee parking facilities at City Hall be approved,
             for the City Square parkade and 10th Avenue surface
             lot.

        B.   THAT Council approve an initial rate of $2.00 per day
             and $35.00 per month for the pay-parking program and
             that the rate be reviewed on an annual basis.

        C.   THAT up to $20,000 be allocated for equipment for the
             pay-parking program, to be funded through revenues
             generated by the program.

        D.   THAT staff report back on the results of the   City  Square   Parkade    24       0       74     0     0     98
             pay-parking program, the disposition of surplus parking   P2
             revenue, and further steps in the program to reduce
             auto-dependent commuting.


   COUNCIL POLICY

   Council policy, as stated in the Clouds of Change report, and
   approved as part of Transport 2021, is to encourage commuter
   alternatives to single-occupant vehicles for City employees.






   Yukon Exec. Parkade       10                                                    4       0        4     0     0     14   PURPOSE

   This report outlines the measures required to implement a
   pay-parking system for the approximately 1060 City Hall precinct
   employees.  The motivation to implement this system comes from
   the Clouds of Change report, in which steps were recommended to
   reduce automobile emissions.  A pay parking program will
   encourage civic employees to commute by means other than
   single-occupant vehicles, as part of an overall Travel Demand
   Management program (TDM).

   BACKGROUND

   In the Clouds of Change report of October 1990, Council directed
   staff to address automobile usage among City employees.  An
   Employee Transportation Administrator (ETA) was designated in
   1991 to coordinate a program designed specifically to encourage
   commuting to and from work by means other than single-occupant                           Single  Car Pool
   vehicles.  Under the ETA s direction, a successful car-pool
   program for civic staff in the precinct was developed.  To date,
   there are 67 registered car-pools of two or more passengers, who
   use the 61 designated spaces (about one fifth of the total
   employee spaces).  Bicycle parking showers and lockers have also
   been expanded.  The presence of a day care facility, availability
   of bus tickets for work-day trips, a fleet van-pool, and a
   guaranteed-ride-home program have also contributed to commute
   alternatives.  More recently, civic unions have been notified
   that a pay-parking program is being developed.

   In 1996, the GVRD began charging for employee parking at its 2
   main Burnaby sites.  This has been generally accepted by
   employees, on the understanding that revenues are redirected to
   other commuting alternatives. 


   CURRENT PRECINCT PARKING DISTRIBUTION

   Parking facilities in the precinct area include parkades at City
   Square, surface parking adjacent to City Hall, the East Wing
   parkades, the 10th Avenue surface lot, and, most recently, the
   Van City Building.  A total of 609 spaces are used for City
   functions.  Of these, 265 unreserved spaces and 61 carpool spaces
   are available to employees on a first-come, first-served basis. 
   An outline of the distribution of spaces in provided in Table 1.


   CURRENT DEMAND

   Of the 1060 precinct employees, approximately 450 drive alone and
   compete for the 265 unreserved City parking spaces on a typical
   Tuesday to Thursday.  The excess vehicles generally park in
   metered spaces on-street or on unregulated on-street spaces in   City  Square   Parkade   115                                                    1       13       0     0     73   135
   the    P1


   neighbourhood.  On Mondays and Fridays, there are sufficient
   parking spaces because many staff are off due to compressed work
   weeks.  Of those who drive, some are auto-captive either because
   they use their vehicles for City work-related purposes or because
   they need a car for other functions before and/or after work
   (e.g., drop off and pick up children at day-care or school).

   It is a central part of the City's operations that staff must
   visit different sites throughout the day and evening.  These
   include building and public-works inspectors, persons attending
   public meetings, and those delivering direct services to the
   public.  Measures have been provided, such as bus tickets and
   passes (and bicycles in some cases) to encourage alternative
   modes, but the majority of these trips still require vehicles. 
   CH Lower Deck              0       0        7     0    122    19   To meet this need, the City operates a number of fleet vehicles. 
   Most are stored at the precinct, but in some cases may be taken
   home by employees.   There are also employee and Councillor
   vehicles used for City purposes: it is often less expensive for
   employees to use their own vehicles, rather than for the City to
   purchase additional fleet vehicles.   When the City requires
   employees to use their own vehicles for this purpose, they are
   reimbursed for the proportioned costs.  Some form of auto
   allowance is paid to approximately 276 employees who use their
   own vehicles for work-related duties.   The implementation of a
   pay-parking system should not change the ability of staff to use
   their own vehicles for work, since this is an essential part of
   the City's operations.

   Table 1. Parking Supply and Allocation in the Precinct Vicinity
   (Spaces affected by pay-parking are shown in bold italics)

   Location                   Employees     Fleet Public Other Total


















   NOTES: 1 includes Disabled parking / 2Councillors, Mayor's
   office, Loading Zones,
              press / 3Day-care / 4Mixed fleet and auto allowance



   SPACES TO BE DESIGNATED AS PAY PARKING

   The focus of this initiative is to encourage as many employees as
   possible to use alternative modes of travel to work rather than
   single-occupant vehicles.  Therefore, the only exceptions to the
   employee pay-parking program would be vehicles used for work
   purposes including fleet vehicles, personal vehicles on City work
   and Councillor vehicles.

   While car-poolers are not exempt from the program, their efforts   10th Ave. Surface Lot    126                                                    1       48       0     0     0    174
   would be rewarded by the continued allocation of reserved stalls,
   and by the sharing of costs.  The current allocation of 61 stalls
   should be maintained and expanded as the program is evaluated in
   the future.

   In summary, the stalls for employee use found in the 10th Avenue
   surface lot (174 stalls) and the two levels of the City Square
   parkade (152 stalls) should be included at the start of this
   program.  This is a total of 326 stalls.  Any private vehicle
   parking in the City-owned parkade currently must display a City
   permit, which is provided to any staff who requests one.   This
   practice would continue in order to ensure that the City lots are
   only used by City employees during work hours.   However, staff
   would also be required to purchase a ticket as noted in this
   report.


   RATES   CH Upper Deck              5                                                    1       0        1    57    102    73

   A survey of parking facilities was undertaken to determine the
   market value of parking in the precinct area.   In the Central
   Broadway corridor to the west, most of the facilities surveyed
   were covered parkades with reserved stalls.   The monthly rate
   for this type of parking stall ranged from $55.00 to $85.00, with
   an average of $70.00.   City Hall is peripheral to this corridor,
   and adjacent to an area of Mount Pleasant where parking is
   low-cost or free.  Initially, it is proposed to set a monthly
   rate of $35.00 and to evaluate that rate on an annual basis.

   One principle of TDM is that drivers should understand the
   marginal cost of using their vehicles.   Therefore, monthly
   passes would not be available.   Instead, employees would
   pre-purchase and validate tickets at a rate of $2.00 per day.  
   Except for carpools, this parking would not be reserved or
   guaranteed.   Based on a 4 or 5 day week, the resulting monthly
   rate would be $35 or $42.

   A magnetic pass system is currently being considered for the
   precinct.   If incorporated with pay parking, this would permit
   direct charge of the daily fee without the congestion of selling
   and validating tickets at the start of the shift.   It could also
   cap the cost at the specified monthly rate, thereby removing the
   inequity between full and compressed-week employees.




   It would also be possible to open the 10th Avenue lot to use by
   the public on evenings and weekends, in order to generate
   additional revenue.   Before this could proceed, however, the
   lighting needs to be improved and "ticket spitters" would have to
   be installed.   This subject can be covered in a report back on
   the program.
   Total                    322                                                    5       61     114    83    29    609

   CAPITAL COST, ENFORCEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

   There are three areas that will be converted to daily parking,
   the 10th Avenue surface lot, and each level of the City Square
   parkade.   The supply of ticket validators, spare batteries, and
   additional signage, including installation, would cost
   approximately $20,000 (first year) and depreciation at $4000 per
   year thereafter.

   The administration of the program will be carried out by existing
   cashier and security staff.  Based on the method outlined, there
   will be an annual cost of approximately $10,000 for ticket
   printing and administration.
   10th Ave. Parkade         294      0       21     0     0     50

   REVENUES

   Assuming the demand for daily parking does not fall far below the
   supply of 326 stalls, it can be expected that 95% of the stalls
   will be occupied from Tuesday to Thursday.

   The following analysis estimates the annual revenues from the
   proposed pay-parking system:

        326 stalls x $2.00 @ 95% occupancy
        * 17 days/month                              $     620.day
        * 52 wks/year, less holidays                 $ 120,000.00/yr


   Costs for vehicles used on City business can be addressed in one
   of two ways.   Either the costs can be taken directly from the
   revenues generated by the program, or the calculated rates for
   auto allowance could be adjusted.   Initially, the former is
   proposed.   An estimate of the cost of pay parking for vehicles
   used on City business is $55,000 per year.   In the longer term,
   Departments should fully recognize the costs of their travel
   activities so these amounts should be incorporated into
   Departmental budgets.

   For 1997 the program should generate a small surplus.   In
   subsequent years, there will be a stream of surplus revenue that
   could be applied to provide additional incentives to alternative
   transportation modes such as bus pass subsidies, enhanced
   service, or improved facilities.  These options should be
   considered separately by Council following further analysis.


                                           1997     Subsequent Years
   Gross revenue                         $ 89,000         $120,000

   Less:
   GST & PST                             $ 11,000         $ 15,000
   equipment installation/depreciation     20,000            4,000
   management                               7,500           10,000
   offset to vehicles used for City work $ 41,500         $ 55,000

   Net revenue                          $   9,000         $ 36,000

   MONITORING

   The use of parking areas, revenues and expenditures, and effects
   on employee commuting habits will be monitored.   These results
   will be reported back to Council so that future adjustments on
   the program and further TDM measures can be introduced.


   UNION NOTIFICATION
   Van City                  10                                                    4       0        0     0     0     10
   The affected employee Unions have been supplied with a copy of
   this report.


   CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

   The pay-parking system is an initiative to advance the City's
   Transportation Demand Management objectives.   By discouraging
   employees from driving to work and offering incentives
   encouraging alternative modes of travel, such as reserved carpool
   spaces,  guaranteed ride home program, improved cycling
   facilities, etc., the City continues to lead by example towards
   reducing traffic volume and encouraging environmental awareness
   by the public.
   Yukon Public Parkade       31      0        7    26     0     36
   With the exception of vehicles required for City work purposes,
   all vehicles in specified lots will pay a rate of $2.00 per day
   for parking.   This amount is reasonable given market rates in
   adjoining areas.   The program should be monitored and reviewed
   on an annual basis.

   The projected annual gross revenues would be approximately
   $120,000 with potential additional revenues being generated from
   transient parking after hours and on weekends if the lot is
   suitably equipped.   The capital cost for installation of the
   facility is approximately $20,000.   Annual expenses are
   estimated to be approximately $85,000, for a net annual surplus
   of $36,000 beginning in 1998.   A future study should address   this future revenue surplus, and other ways to further encourage
   alternative modes to the single occupant vehicle.

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