San Mateo modifying downtown parking rates

The City Council approved a resolution for the fee revisions at its Oct. 18 meeting. It will decrease the hourly parking rate on South Railroad Avenue between Fifth to Ninth avenues to 25 cents per hour up to 10 hours. The fee decrease for 88 parking spaces along South Railroad Avenue and low-cost permits will allow continued low-cost parking options for downtown workers affected by the Kiku Crossing parking garage project downtown. In January, project construction begins to build on existing city-owned parking lots at Fourth Avenue and Claremont Street and Fifth Avenue and Claremont Street that historically served as lower-cost parking for workers. The closures will also reduce downtown parking supply by 235 spaces out of around 3,000.

The city will also offer a low-cost option of $40 per month for its downtown parking permit program for qualifying low-income people at all city-owned parking garages. City staff said the proposal would offer 10% of permits at each parking garage, with adjustments possible to ensure availability.

The Main Street Garage will become a premium parking zone, increasing the parking rate from 75 cents to $1.25 per hour and the monthly permit fee from $65 to $100 per month. The city will make it similarly priced to the Central Parking Garage. Both are near each other and have similar occupancy levels. Staff recommended the change to reflect current land use and ensure pricing matches use. Staff noted downtown development had made Main Street Garage a central facility with occupancy greater than Central Garage in the early evening and with similar peak occupancy on weekdays.

Councilmember Amourence Lee thought the proposal would work well for the city but wanted to find ways to help business owners who employ low-wage workers. She suggested staff look into options for long-term parking permits tied to businesses employing people, with a parking space that could be used by multiple employees, resulting in more utilization.

“What’s being proposed is really exciting and well-conceived. I’m not sure it’s entirely addressing the needs of businesses who are employers who are seeing turnover of their employees and wanting to be good stewards to their employees,” Lee said.

Sue-Ellen Atkinson, San Mateo principal transportation planner, said making permits available by businesses would modify its current permit program. The city does not currently award permits to businesses. San Mateo currently issues permits by vehicle or license plate number and cannot be shared among people.

Deputy Mayor Rick Bonilla favored keeping parking affordable for low-wage downtown workers. He noted it was timely due to major downtown changes and the area losing 235 spaces. Bonilla also wanted staff to monitor ways to provide more low-income parking in other spaces less utilized.

“It is the right time to plan for this. I don’t think people understand how hard it is to manage parking,” Bonilla said, noting the city is always seeking to improve and address challenges with parking.

The resolution passed 4-0, with Mayor Eric Rodriguez absent from the meeting.

curtis@smdailyjournal.com

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