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HomeMy WebLinkAbout104-Attachment #3.pdf 160 West Santa Clara Street, Suite 675, San Jose CA 95113 (408) 278-1700 Fax (408) 278-1717 www.fehrandpeers.com MEMORANDUM Date: June 11, 2008 To: John Cherbone, Public Works Director From: Sohrab Rashid/Franziska Holtzman Subject: 2008 Village Parking Survey in Saratoga, California 1025-446-1 In November 2007 and May 2008, Fehr & Peers completed a comprehensive parking survey of the Village area in Saratoga, California. The Village area comprises the City of Saratoga’s downtown and is located on Big Basin Way extending from Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road to 6th Street. The Village includes four designated Parking Districts (1, 2, 3, and 4) located behind Village businesses, as well as, on-street parking along Big Basin Way, and other private lots serving individual businesses or centers. Parking Districts 1 and 3 are surface parking lots located behind the business on the north side of Big Basin Way, while the surface parking lots in Parking Districts 2 and 4 are located behind businesses on the south side of Big Basin Way. Figure 1 shows the Village area and the location of the Parking Districts. This study included both parking occupancy and duration surveys in all four parking districts and on-street parking spaces at half-hour intervals from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm on one weekday and one Saturday. In addition to the number of occupied parking spaces, Fehr & Peers evaluated parking duration by collecting the last four digits of each parked vehicle’s license plate. The purpose of these surveys was twofold: a. To evaluate parking supply to determine if it is sufficient to accommodate the existing demand b. To evaluate the duration that vehicles are parked to determine if current time limits are appropriate based on existing demand. This memorandum summarizes our findings in three sections. First, findings from Parking Districts 2 and 4 are discussed, followed by a section describing the findings for Parking Districts 1 and 3. On street-parking is evaluated in the third section. This memorandum concludes with a summary of the findings presented in this memo. PARKING EVALUATION FOR PARKING DISTRICTS 2 AND 4 Fehr & Peers completed occupancy and duration surveys in Districts 2 and 4 on Thursday, November 15, 2007, and Saturday, November 17, 2007. Our findings are presented below. Existing Parking Supply Parking Districts 2 and 4 are located south of Big Basin Way, behind the businesses located between 3rd and 5th Streets. Parking District 2 (west of 4th Street) has a total of 57 public parking spaces, in addition to 16 private valet parking spaces for the La Fondue restaurant, while Parking District 4 (east of 4th Street) includes 61 public parking spaces. Both districts have spaces with different posted time limits. Two-hour and four-hour parking restrictions are posted on some spaces, while others are not time-restricted at all. Table 1 summarizes the number and type of spaces available in Parking Districts 2 and 4. John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 3 of 15 TABLE 1 PARKING SUPPLY SUMMARY FOR PARKING DISTRICTS 2 AND 4 IN THE VILLAGE OF SARATOGA Parking District 2-Hour Parking Limit 9am to 5pm 2-Hour Parking Limit (4pm to 12am) 4-Hour Parking Limit (4pm to 12am) Private Valet Parking Handicap Parking No Parking Restriction Total Parking Supply 2 32 0 0 16 1 24 73 4 0 35 19 0 2 5 61 Total 32 35 19 16 3 29 134 Source: Fehr & Peers, 2007. District 2 and 4 Parking Occupancy As shown on Figure 2, Parking Districts 2 and 4 are on average about 85 percent to 90 percent occupied for most of the late afternoon and evening. The peak parking demand occurred on Thursday at 7:30 pm with nearly 100 percent of the parking spaces occupied (128 out 134). Other than this time period the parking demand on Saturday typically exceeded the Thursday parking demand. In the evening after 8:30 pm, the parking demand dropped off quickly on Thursday, while the Saturday demand had a more gradual decline. For the 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm time period, the average parking occupancy was 81 percent on Thursday and 87 percent on Saturday. These parking occupancies show similar trends to data collected in the Village in July of 2002. The 2002 data showed that Parking Districts 2 and 4 were between 60 percent and 100 percent occupied from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Figure 3 shows the occupancy by individual districts. District 2 was approximately 83 percent occupied on average on Thursday and Saturday, and District 4 was approximately 87 percent occupied. The data for District 2 includes the La Fondue valet parking lot in the occupancy rate. Without the valet lot, District 2 was approximately 96 percent occupied. La Fondue opens for dinner at 5:00 pm and their valet parking lot was approximately 50% to 60% occupied on average between 5:00 pm and 10:00 pm on Thursday and Saturday. In summary, both parking Districts 2 and 4 are near capacity on Thursday and Saturday evenings. Parking occupancy is slightly higher on Saturday than on Thursday, and District 2 (excluding the valet parking lot) has a higher occupancy rate than District 4. John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 4 of 15 Figure 2: Parking Occupancy – Parking Districts 2 & 4 by Day of Week 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 15:0015:3016:0016:3017:0017:3018:0018:3019:0019:3020:0020:3021:0021:3022:00 Time Period Pe r c e n t o f S p a c e s O c c u p i e d Thursday Saturday Figure 3: Average Daily Parking Occupancy for Parking Districts 2 & 4 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% 15:0015:3016:0016:3017:0017:3018:0018:3019:0019:3020:0020:3021:0021:3022:00 Time Period Oc c u p i e d P a r k i n g S p a c e s District 2 (no LF) Average Daily District 2 Average Daily District 4 Average Daily John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 5 of 15 District 2 and 4 Parking Duration In addition to parking occupancy rates, data was collected on the duration that vehicles parked in each space in both districts. In those parking spaces that do have parking restrictions (2-hour or 4-hour), nearly 10 percent of all parked vehicles exceeded the designated parking time on both Thursday and Saturday. The percent of parking violations was fairly even for both Districts 2 and 4. However it should be noted that Parking District 2 has less restrictive limits than District 4 for the data collection time period between 3:00 pm and 10:00 pm.1 During the survey period, approximately 300 and 330 different vehicles parked in the two districts on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Of the total parked vehicles, approximately 35 percent (or 100 vehicles) parked for at least three hours on both Thursday and Saturday. Nearly 20 percent parked for at least five hours on Thursday and Saturday, for a total of approximately 60 vehicles each day. Similarly, approximately six percent parked for at least seven hours on Thursday and nine percent on Saturday. This translates to 18 vehicles on Thursday and 29 vehicles on Saturday that parked for at least seven hours. Those vehicles that parked for at least seven hours are likely owned by employees that work at the retail and restaurant locations on Big Basin Way. Table 2 summarizes the average duration by parking restriction zone. For all parking spaces, the average parking duration was approximately 3.6 hours and 3.4 hours for Thursday and Saturday, respectively. In the 2-hour parking limit zones the average parking duration exceed the posted limit by at least one hour on both days. The average parking duration for the 4-hour zones was within the posted limit. TABLE 2 AVERAGE PARKING DURATION BY ZONE FOR DISTRICTS 2 AND 4 Parking Zone Thursday Saturday 2-hour 3.1 3.0 4-hour 3.4 3.8 No Limit 4.4 5.0 Valet Parking 2.9 2.6 All Parking Spaces 3.6 3.4 Source: Fehr & Peers, 2007. Summary Conclusions for Parking Districts 2 and 4 Based on the observed parking demand, the parking supply in Parking Districts 2 and 4, with the exception of the valet parking lot, is near capacity during the evening peak hours from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The average parking occupancy for both parking districts is approximately 3.5 hours. This indicates that the 2-hour parking restriction from 4:00 pm to 12:00 am is not being enforced regularly and demand is for a period of approximately three hours. 1 Data was collected between 3:00 pm and 10:00 pm. Parking District 2 has 2-hour time restrictions between 9:00am and 5:00 pm, while Parking District has 2- and 4-hour parking restrictions between 4:00 pm and 12:00 am. John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 6 of 15 To increase the available supply and turnover, all spaces could be posted with a three-hour limit at all times of the day. This would force employees to park in a different lot (likely District 3) and make at least 16 spaces available in both lots. The three-hour limit would also accommodate the typical time a costumer spends in the Village as evidenced by the surveys. The City has the opportunity to lease 22 spaces in two privately owned lots located south Big Basin Way off of 3rd Street to increase the supply for District 2. Because Districts 2 and 4 have high occupancy rates, the addition of these parking spaces would help to address the high peak parking demand in the immediate vicinity of 4th Street/Big Basin Way. If the spaces are leased by the City, they should be posted with the three-hour limit to accommodate the average parking duration, and would increase the District 2/4 supply by 16 percent. To ensure compliance with the limits and provide reasonable parking turnover, periodic enforcement will be required. PARKING EVALUATION FOR PARKING DISTRICTS 1 AND 3 Fehr & Peers completed occupancy and duration surveys in Parking Districts 1 and 3 on Thursday, May 1, 2008, and Saturday, May 3, 2008. Existing Parking Supply Parking Districts 1 and 3 are located north of Big Basin Way, behind the businesses located between Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road and 5th Street. Parking District 1 (located between 5th Street and east of 4th Street) has a total of 127 public parking spaces, with an additional 41 private parking spaces for The Inn at Saratoga. Parking District 3 (east of 4th Street to Saratoga- Sunnyvale Road) has 219 public parking spaces. Parking District 1 does not have any parking restrictions, while Parking District 3 has parking spaces with varied posted time limits. Some spaces are posted with 2-hour limits and a few are restricted to 15 minutes, while others are not time restricted at all. Table 3 summarizes the number and type of parking spaces available in each district. TABLE 4 PARKING SUPPLY SUMMARY FOR DISTRICTS 1 AND 3 Parking District 2-Hour Parking Limit 15-Minute Parking Limit Private Parking Handicap Parking No Parking Restriction Total Parking Supply 1 0 0 41 8 119 168 3 91 4 0 7 117 219 Total 91 4 41 15 236 387 Source: Fehr & Peers, 2008. District 1 and 3 Parking Occupancy As shown in Figure 4, Parking Districts 1 and 3 are about 40 percent to 50 percent occupied on average for most of the late afternoon and evening. The peak parking demand occurred on Thursday at 3:00 pm with nearly 60 percent of the parking spaces occupied (232 out 387). Thursday typically exceeded the Saturday parking demand from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm. In the evening after 6:30 pm the Saturday demand was almost always higher than the Thursday parking demand. From 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm, both days showed a steady decline in demand, while a John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 7 of 15 secondary peak occurred on Saturday between 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. For the 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm time period, the average parking occupancy was 44 percent on Thursday and 43 percent on Saturday. Figure 5 shows the occupancy by individual districts. District 1 was approximately 44 percent occupied on average on Thursday and Saturday, and the average occupancy in District 3 was approximately 43 percent on these days. The data for District 1 includes The Inn at Saratoga parking lot in the occupancy rate summary. Without the private parking lot, District 1 was approximately 80 percent occupied from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, with a significant drop in occupancy after 5:00 pm. Figure 4: Parking Occupancy – Parking Districts 1 & 3 by Day of Week 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 15:0015:3016:0016:3017:0017:3018:0018:3019:0019:3020:0020:3021:0021:3022:00 Time Period Pe r c e n t o f S p a c e s O c c u p i e d Thursday Saturday In summary, parking demand in District 1 (excluding the private parking lot) varied between 78 and 92 percent of capacity on Thursday and Saturday from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, while the parking demand in District 3 was consistently below half of its capacity for the entire survey period. Occupancy was slightly higher on Thursday prior to approximately 6:30 pm but this trend is reversed after 6:30 pm with an increase attributed to demand caused by weekend evening dining. Parking District 1 (both including and excluding the private parking lot) has a higher occupancy rate than District 3 until late at night. The maximum desirable parking occupancy level in most lots is 85 to 90 percent so that drivers do not spend an inordinate amount of time searching for a parking space when a lot is close to fully occupied. John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 8 of 15 Figure 5: Average Daily Parking Occupancy for Districts 1 and 3 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 15:0015:3016:0016:3017:0017:3018:0018:3019:0019:3020:0020:3021:0021:3022:00 Time Period Oc c u p i e d P a r k i n g S p a c e s District 1 Average Daily District 1 w/o Private Parking District 3 Average Daily District 1 and 3 Parking Duration In addition to parking occupancy rates, data was collected on the duration that vehicles parked in each space in both districts. In those parking spaces that do have parking restrictions, nearly 15 percent of all parked vehicles exceeded the designated parking time on both Thursday and Saturday. As noted previously, District 1 has no spaces with time restrictions. This data excluded the four spaces with the 15- minute limit due to limitations of the surveyed time-interval of 30 minutes. During the survey period, approximately 460 and 470 different vehicles parked in the two districts on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Of the total parked vehicles, approximately 25 percent (or 116 vehicles) parked for at least three hours on both Thursday and Saturday for each of the districts. Nearly 10 percent or 50 vehicles parked for at least five hours on each day surveyed. Similarly, approximately five percent parked for at least seven hours on Thursday and seven percent on Saturday. This translates to 23 vehicles on Thursday and 33 vehicles on Saturday that parked for at least seven hours. Those vehicles that parked for at least seven hours are likely owned by employees that work for the businesses within the Village. Table 5 summarizes the average duration by posted time limit. For all parking spaces, the average parking duration was approximately 3.1 hours for both Thursday and Saturday. In the 2- hour parking limit spaces, the average parking duration exceed the posted limit by almost one hour on both days. The average parking duration for the 15-minute zones was not included due to the limitation of 30-minute data collection periods. John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 9 of 15 TABLE 5 AVERAGE PARKING DURATION BY ZONE FOR DISTRICTS 1 AND 3 Parking Zone Thursday Saturday 2-hour 2.7 3.4 No Limit 3.2 3.1 Private Parking 4.4 3.1 All Parking Spaces 3.1 3.1 Source: Fehr & Peers, 2008. Summary Conclusions for Parking Districts 1 and 3 Based on the observed parking demand, Parking District 1 (excluding the private parking lot for The Inn at Saratoga hotel) had an average parking demand of 80 percent of its capacity during the afternoon peak hours from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Occupancy in District 3 was consistently below 50 percent throughout the study period. The average parking duration for both parking districts was approximately 3.1 hours. This indicates that the 2-hour parking restriction is not being enforced regularly and actual demand is for a period of approximately three hours. As recommended above all spaces in District 1 and 3 could be posted with a three-hour limit at all times to accommodate the typical parking duration. The greater parking demand for Districts 2 and 4 as compared to Districts 1 and 3 indicates that parking in the even numbered lots is more desirable to patrons. Since more than half of the parking supply in District 3 is available (approximately 110 available spaces) and with District 2 and District 4 near capacity during the surveyed period, District 3 could be used for designated employee parking in the Village with longer time limits (e.g., up to 8 hours). For all four districts combined, approximately 40 to 60 of vehicles were observed parking for seven hours or more. Allowing for a ten percent fluctuation in daily parking demand, 70 parking spaces in District 3 could be designated for employee parking with a posted time limit of 8 hours or more. These could be marked with an “E” to direct employees to the appropriate parking spaces. However, without a permitting process, visitors to the Village could park in these spaces as well. This will free up some spaces within Districts 2 and 4 for more short-term customer parking. The remaining spaces in District 3 could be posted with a three-hour time limit. ON-STREET PARKING EVALUATION Fehr & Peers completed occupancy and duration surveys for on-street parking spaces in the Village area. The surveys were conducted on Thursday, May 29, 2008, and Saturday, May 31, 2008. Existing Parking Supply On-street parking is located on both sides of Big Basin Way between Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road and 6th Street, as well as on one or both sides of 3rd, 4th and 5th Streets. A total of 124 on-street spaces and 8 loading zone spaces are available in the Village. Most spaces are posted with 2- hour limits and a few are restricted to 15 minutes. Table 6 summarizes the number and type of parking spaces available on Big Basin Way and Figure 6 illustrates the Village’s on-street parking inventory. 6t h S t . 6th St. 5th St.5th St. 4th St.4th St. 3rd St.3rd St. Saratoga Los Gatos Rd.Saratoga Los Gatos Rd.SR 9 SR 9 Bi g B a s i n W a y Big Basin Way 6t h S t . 5th St. 4th St. 3rd St. Saratoga Los Gatos Rd.SR 9 Bi g B a s i n W a y 1 4 1212 3 5 4 9 7 6 23666 44 44 44 11 11 11 2 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 22 1 11 22 22 11 4 44 22 22 22 3 33 5 4 12 7 77 9 22 3 33 33 33 Lo a d i n g zo n e 9 a m - 6 p m 9 a m - 1 0 p m ex c e p t Su n d a y s 9 a m - 1 0 p m ex c e p t Su n d a y s No p a r k i n g lo a d i n g z o n e 9 a m - 6 p m Pa s s e n g e r lo a d z o n e Mo n - S a t 6 p m - 1 2 a m 9 a m - 6 p m 9 a m - 6 p m 9 a m - 1 0 p m 9 am - 6 pm except Sundays & Holidays 9 a m - 6 p m Ju n e 2 0 0 8 10 2 5 - 4 4 6 \ P h a s e 1 Saratoga Village Parking FIGURE 1 SA R A T O G A V I L L A G E ( B I G B A S I N W A Y S O U T H O F H I G H W A Y 9 ) ON - S T R E E T P A R K I N G I N V E N T O R Y NO T T O S C A L E N LE G E N D : = 2-hour Parking = 15-min. Parking = Loading Zone = Number of Parking Spaces 22 John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 11 of 15 TABLE 6 PARKING SUPPLY SUMMARY FOR ON-STREET PARKING 2-Hour Parking Limit 15-Minute Parking Limit Loading Zones Total Parking Supply 115 9 8 132 Source: Fehr & Peers, 2008. Parking Occupancy As shown in Figure 7, on-street parking is about 80 percent occupied on average for most of late afternoon and evening. The peak parking demand occurred on Saturday at 7:30 pm with nearly 90 percent of the parking spaces occupied (118 out of 132). Saturday typically exceeded the Thursday demand from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm. In the evening after 8:00 pm, the Thursday demand was higher than the Saturday parking demand. Both days showed a similar pattern, where the peak occurred on Saturday between 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm. For the 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm time period, the average occupancy was 72 and 76 percent on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Figure 7: Parking Occupancy – On-Street Parking by Day of Week 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 15:0015:3016:0016:3017:0017:3018:00 18:3019:0019:3020:0020:3021:0021:30 Time Period Pe r c e n t o f S p a c e s O c c u p i e d Thur On-Street Parking Sat On-Street Parking Figure 8 shows the occupancy both with and without the on-street loading zones. Approximately 75 percent of spaces were occupied on average on Thursday and Saturday with loading zones included, and the average occupancy without the zones was approximately 80 percent. Both scenarios showed the peak demand occurring between 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 12 of 15 Figure 8: Average Daily On-Street Parking Occupancy 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 15:0015:3016:0016:3017:0017:3018:0018:3019:0019:3020:0020:3021:0021:30 Time Period Oc c u p i e d P a r k i n g S p a c e s On-Street Average Daily On-Street Average Daily w/o Loading Space In summary, on-street parking demand (excluding the loading zone) varied between 76 and 78 percent of capacity on Thursday and Saturday from 3:00 pm to 10:00 pm, while the parking demand for both situations consistently stayed above 60 percent of its capacity for the entire survey period. Occupancy was higher on Saturday prior to approximately 8:00 pm but this trend is reversed after 8:00 pm. This increase is attributed to demand caused by weekend dining and shopping from afternoon to early evening. On-street parking (both including and excluding the loading zones) had a relatively high occupancy rate through out the survey period exhibiting the desirability of spaces located closest to the entrance of most businesses. As noted previously, the maximum desirable parking occupancy level in most lots is 85 to 90 percent so that drivers do not spend an inordinate amount of time searching for a parking space when on-street parking is close to fully occupied. On-street Parking Duration In addition to parking occupancy rates, data was collected on the duration that vehicles parked in each space in both districts. As noted previously, on-street parking in the Village includes posted 2-hour and 15-minute limits. This data excluded the nine spaces with the 15-minute limit due to limitations of the surveyed time-interval of 30 minutes. During the survey period, approximately 85 and 88 different vehicles parked on the street on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Of the total parked vehicles, approximately 19 percent (or 16 vehicles) parked for at least three hours on Thursday and 11 percent (or 9 vehicles) on Saturday. Nearly five percent on Thursday and two percent on Saturday parked for at least five hours. Similarly, approximately one percent parked for at least seven hours on Thursday and John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 13 of 15 Saturday. This translates to one vehicle on both days that parked for at least seven hours, which is likely owned by an employee that works for the businesses within the Village. Table 5 summarizes the average duration by posted time limit. For all parking spaces, the average parking duration was approximately 2 hours for both Thursday and Saturday. In the 2- hour limit spaces, the average duration exceeded the posted limit by 0.1 hour on Thursday but was within the limit on Saturday. The loading zone parking duration was approximately 1.3 hours. The average parking duration for the 15-minute zones was not included due to the limitation of 30-minute data collection periods. TABLE 7 AVERAGE PARKING DURATION BY PARKING ZONE Parking Zone Thursday Saturday 2-hour 2.1 1.8 Loading Zone 1.4 1.2 All Parking Spaces 2.1 1.8 Source: Fehr & Peers, 2008. Evaluation of On-street Designations As indicated above in Table 6, the majority of the on-street parking spaces have 2-hour time restrictions, while nine spaces have 15-minute time restrictions, and another eight spaces are designated loading spaces. Between one and two of the 15-minute parking spaces are located on each block and are located in front of businesses that generally have high-turnover rates (such as coffee shops and dry cleaners). As noted above, the overall on-street parking demand is nearly 80 percent and provides some capacity to allow drivers to find parking. Base on the observed parking demand and the location of the 15-minute parking spaces in front of high-turnover businesses, the number and location of the 15-minute parking spaces are generally adequate to meet the Village’s parking demand. One of the 15-minute parking spaces is located in front of the De Mario restaurant. Based on discussion of City staff with restaurants owner this space could be converted to a 2-hour space, since the restaurant is generally a sit-down restaurant rather than a take-out facility. As shown on Figure 6 the 15-minute parking limit is posted from either 9:00 am to 6:00 pm or 9:00 am to 10:00 pm. The 9:00 am to 6:00 pm restrictions are located east of 3rd Street in front of a clothing alterations store and in front of the De Mario restaurant. The alterations store is generally closed by 6:00 pm; and therefore the duration of the 15-minute time restrictions is appropriate for this locations. As noted in the paragraph above the restaurant is a sit-down facility and does not have a high-turn over rate. This space could be converted to a 2-hour space. The 15-minute parking spaces are located west of 3rd Street and are posted from 9:00 am to 10:00 pm. The 15-minute parking spaces between 3rd Street and 4th Street are located in front of multiple restaurants and a coffee shop, which both have a high-turnover potential for take-out food and beverages. Both the restaurants and coffee shop are open until 9:00pm or later; therefore the duration of the 15-minute time restriction is considered appropriate for these locations. Lastly, a group of three 15-minute parking spaces is located north of 5th Street in front of tailoring business and coffee shop. Though these businesses have high turnover rates during the daytime, they close for business in the early evening. Thus, we recommend that 15-minute parking restriction at this location be changed to 9:00 am to 6:00pm to reflect the lower demand John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 14 of 15 for high turnover parking spaces. After 6 pm, these spaces would allow parking for up to 2 hours consistent with the rest of Big Basin Way. The loading spaces are generally grouped in two spaces to allow adequate parking length for trucks making deliveries to Village businesses. The exception is the four-space loading area in front of the Plumed Horse restaurant. Though, the Plumed Horse has a relatively high demand for the loading zone the demand could be met with three spaces; and therefore it is recommended that the loading space furthest to the west be converted to 2-hour parking. Fehr & Peers prepared a separate memo to the City of Saratoga dated June 10, 2008, that addresses the demand for the loading area in front of the Plumed Horse in more detail. In terms of location, the groups of two to four loading spaces are evenly distributed on Big Basin Way and are provide sufficient loading capacity for Village businesses. Fehr & Peers does not recommend any modifications to the existing location of the loading areas. City staff has discussed the potential of converting some of the 15-minute and loading spaces to 2-hour parking with business owners in the Village. Based on these conversations the 15-minute parking space in front of the De Mario restaurant and the two-space loading area located on the north eastern corner of Big Basin Way and 4th Street could be converted. These modifications would convert three spaces to 2-hour parking. Summary Conclusions for On-Street Parking Based on the observed parking demand, on-street parking (excluding the loading zone spaces) had an average parking demand of 85 percent of its capacity during the evening peak hours from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Occupancy was consistently above 50 percent throughout the study period. The average parking duration for both parking districts was approximately 2.0 hours. This indicates that the 2-hour parking restriction meets the actual demand with the exception of a few vehicles. This approach could be maintained until parking demand increases occupancy to close to 90 percent in the future. At that time, time limits could be adjusted to increase turnover or employee parking could be relocated to another lot. SUMMARY OF THE 2008 VILLAGE PARKING SURVEY The surveys show that the Village’s parking demand ranges anywhere from 40 percent to close to 100 percent depending on the location of the parking spaces. The on-street parking occupancy was approximately 80 percent on weekday and Saturday evenings. Parking spaces located closer to the Big Basin Way/4th Street intersection are the most desirable and have higher parking demand rates than those located east of 3rd Street. The highest occupancy rates are in Districts 2 and 4, while District 1 spaces are less attractive due to the additional walking distance and steep grade to get to businesses on Big Basin Way. Overall, most vehicles in the off-street lots park for an average of three hours, while the on-street duration is two hours consistent with the posted limits. Parking duration studies showed that some employees are parking in the highest demand areas and are able to due to infrequent enforcement of time limits. Accordingly, we recommend that spaces with 8-hour time limits be designated for employees in District 3, which currently has a substantial parking surplus. The walking distance for employees from the middle of District 3 to 4th Street is roughly 1,000 feet, which is not an unreasonable distance to be traversed as part of a commute trip. While some locational parking deficiencies do occur at peak times within the Village, the overall parking supply is generally sufficient to meet the area’s parking demand. John Cherbone June 11, 2008 Page 15 of 15 In addition, the time restrictions on three spaces with 15-minute limits could be reduced to allow 2-hour parking after 6 pm to increase the on-street supply. Overall, however, the on-street supply includes 2-hour parking and we do not recommend any changes at this time.