Charge for Parking: AMajor Policy Step for Glendale, CA from Page 24


ed. “Market-priced on-street parking will save time, reduce traffic, conserve energy, improve air quality and increase pub- lic revenue.” Changing drivers’ habits required a significant shift in poli-


cy. Glendale approved a plan to eliminate free parking on the main commercial streets downtown. On-street parking rates are now $1 per hour. The city can monitor and adjust prices to achieve a parking space occupancy rate of 85%.


Revenue Management Glendale recognized that such “demand-responsive” pric-


ing required new technology for revenue management. The practical problem was how to collect and control parking rev- enue and how to improve the efficiency of the parking system. The city’s Traffic and Transportation Division based the selec- tion of a revenuemanagement solution on twomajor objectives:


accelerating end-user acceptance and reducing total cost of parking operations. The city selected a multi-space parking meter technology


that provides users the convenience of multiple payment options (coin and credit card) – and offers significantly lower operating costs than single-space meters through reduced cost of collec- tions andmaintenance. Officials evaluated two alternatives for parking revenue


management: pay-and-display and pay-by-space.They selected a pay-by-space option mainly because of the enhanced customer experience provided by an easy “park, pay, go” operation; the capability for clients to add additional time; and the increased efficiency of enforcement. After evaluating several possible solutions, city officials


selected the Luke multi-space parking paystation from Digital Payment Technologies. Crucial requirements were the need to support a wide range of communications net- works; ease of use and full-color high-resolu- tion screen; and auditing and revenue control features.


FromPlan to Action Ending free parking in the downtown core


was not a trivial change. Stakeholder involve- ment in the process was a crucial success fac- tor. “This change was analyzed and reviewed in many ways before implementation,” said Jano Baghdanian, Glendale’s Traffic and TransportationAdministrator. Before the first multi-space parking


meters went live in December 2008, the city launched a public relations campaign through local print, radio and television media that communicated the role of parkingmanagement in realizing its plans for downtown revitaliza- tion. Implementation of the multi-space park- ing meter system was part of an overreaching programthat integrated on- and off-street park- ing into a system. Glendale put “parking ambassadors” on


the street every day for nearly a month to answer users’ questions. For six weeks, it applied a policy of soft enforcement, issuing only warning tickets for first offenses.


Benefits In the system’s first year of operations,


Glendale has seen significant improvement in parking efficiency in downtown. The parking shortage perception has changed, more prime parking spaces are available near businesses, the once under-utilized parking structures have seen an increase in occupancy, and there is improved capability to manage operations and monitor financials. (The parking occupancy rate alongBrandBoulevard thatwas previously above 90%has been reduced to about 80%.) The management system continuously


monitors every multi-space parking meter, manages credit card transactions in real time, Continued on Page 28


26 JANUARY 2010 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


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