DOWNTOWN MALDEN PARKING FACILITIES ASSESSMENT, City of Malden/MRA PEDESTRIAN & BICYCLE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS STUDY INTRODUCTION The City of Malden and the Malden Redevelopment Authority are taking significant actions to improve diversity of uses and activate the downtown area. In the late 1960s/early 1970s, the City undertook a major urban renewal program that dramatically altered the central business district. The program included removal of hundreds of residential units and other structures, and constructed a new Government Center building that changed traffic patterns on Pleasant Street and diverted traffic volumes around the Central Business District (CBD). Two new parking garages (CBD and Jackson Street) were constructed to replace lost parking in the downtown as well as to support the redevelopment. The MBTA extended its Orange Line heavy rapid transit service to Malden Center and beyond, and also established a commuter rail station at Malden Center with at-grade pedestrian connections to downtown Malden and limited transit related commuter parking capacity. As part of a new private development, the Government Center building was removed, reconnecting Pleasant Street and improving traffic and pedestrian/bicyclist circulation through the downtown. Redevelopment in Malden is now focused on transportation oriented development (TOD), providing mixed use (residential, business, commercial, and leisure space) all within a comfortable walking distance of the Malden Center Station. The signs of new development are abundant, and high density housing, new restaurants, and other development is creating a new downtown that will thrive as a result of these public investments and supportive public policy. Malden is also a transit hub for the Encore Boston Harbor resort and casino located just over 2 miles from Malden Center Station. Encore will provie shuttle service from Malden Center Station, and is currently designing improvements along the rear-access road to the station. The Weston & Sampson|TimHaahs team has been retained by the City of Malden and the Malden Redevelopment Authority (MRA) to provide assessment of existing parking facilities in and around downtown Malden, as well as, pedestrian and bicycle safety with particular attention given to access between the Malden Center Station and downtown. This study builds upon efforts undertaken by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) with the 2015 Malden Center Parking Management Plan. The study is provided in seven parts: . Part I – Parking Adequacy . Part II – Parking Management & Pricing . Part III – Parking Structure Condition, Repair & Maintenance . Part IV – Parking Structure Enhancements . Part V – Surface Parking Redevelopment . Part VI – Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety . Part VII – Implementation Plan 1. Study Goal & Objectives The Weston & Sampson|TimHaahs team worked with the City and the MRA to determine a clear goal and precise set of objectives for this project. Goal: Maximize the City of Malden’s downtown parking assets while providing safe access for pedestrians and bicyclists. Objectives: 1 Assess current downtown parking facilities and determine future needs. 2 Provide best practices for parking management and pricing. 3 Assess physical condition of parking structure and provide recommendations for repair and maintenance. 4 Provide parking structure enhancements. 5 Identify surface lot redevelopment including feasibility of additional parking structures. 6 Provide recommendations for pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements. 7 Prepare an Implementation Plan. westonandsampson.com | timhaahs.com 1 DOWNTOWN MALDEN PARKING FACILITIES ASSESSMENT, City of Malden/MRA PEDESTRIAN & BICYCLE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS STUDY 2. Study Area The study area is illustrated in Figure 1, and includes the central business district as bound by Commercial Street to the west, Florence Street to the north, Main Street to the east, and Centre Street to the south. The study area also extends west of Commercial Street incorporating Malden Center Station and the adjacent surface parking lot to the west, as well as the area north of Florence Street along Dartmouth Street and the Dartmouth Street surface parking lot. The following parking locations are included: . Parking Structures - Jackson Street Garage - CBD Garage . Surface Lots - Pleasant Street Lot - Dartmouth Street Lot - Florence Street Lot - Main Street Lot - Malden Center Station Lot . On-Street Parking - Exchange Street (between Abbott Street & Main Street) - Pleasant Street (between Abbott Street & Main Street) - Garnet Road (between Washington Street & Dartmouth Street) - Abbott Street (between Pleasant Street & Exchange Street) - Washington Street (between Garnet Road & Exchange Street) - Dartmouth Street (between Garnet Road & Pleasant Street) - Main Street (between Florence Street & Centre Street) - Dartmouth Street (between Mountain Avenue & Garnet Road) Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety includes the following locations: . Dartmouth Street (between Florence Street & Mountain Avenue) . Exchange Street . Jackson Street . Commercial Street (between Pleasant Street & Centre Street) . Middlesex Street North . Malden Center Station (front and back) . Florence Street westonandsampson.com | timhaahs.com 2 DOWNTOWN MALDEN PARKING FACILITIES ASSESSMENT, City of Malden/MRA PEDESTRIAN & BICYCLE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS STUDY Figure 1. Study Area Map Source: TimHaahs westonandsampson.com | timhaahs.com 3 DOWNTOWN MALDEN PARKING FACILITIES ASSESSMENT, City of Malden/MRA PEDESTRIAN & BICYCLE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS STUDY PART I PARKING ADEQUACY westonandsampson.com | timhaahs.com 4 DOWNTOWN MALDEN PARKING FACILITIES ASSESSMENT, City of Malden/MRA PEDESTRIAN & BICYCLE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS STUDY PART I. PARKING ADEQUACY Our Weston & Sampson|TimHaahs team built upon recent parking enhancement initiatives for the downtown Malden area. This section provides a review of parking adequacy. Parking adequacy refers to the sufficient supply of parking. Parking adequacy will vary throughout the course of a day, the day of the week, and the time of the year, and is based on the supply of parking provided and the demand for use of parking. This report reviews existing parking adequacy based on current parking supply and demand, as well as projected future parking adequacy based on population growth as well as planned future developments. Specifically this section includes: . Review of Malden Center Parking Management Plan . Existing Parking Supply . Existing Parking Demand . Parking Adequacy . Future Parking Conditions . Recommendations 1. Malden Center Parking Management Plan Overview In October 2015 MAPC published the Malden Center Parking Management Plan for MRA and the City of Malden. The plan included the following observations: . Overall Weekday Peak Demand occurred at 12 PM: - Parking was 84% utilized during this peak hour - Parking demand was consistently high between 9 AM and 3 PM . On-Street Weekday Peak Demand occurred at 12 PM: - On-street parking was 93% utilized during this peak hour - Peak hour parking demand was well above the target occupancy level of 85% - Vehicles were parked for long durations, sometimes all day, limiting potential for parking turnover MAPC recommendations included physical improvements to parking facilities as well as policy changes that were intended to help achieve the following goals: . Increase availability for short-term parking in the Malden Center study area, while maintaining adequate parking for employees of Malden Center businesses and others who need long-term parking. Maximize parking capacity through physical improvements and pricing strategies that enable more efficient use of existing on-street and off-street parking areas. Reduce parking demand by improving conditions for walking, biking and transit use, in addition to changing pricing policies that tend to encourage driving. Coordinate policies for on-street, public off-street, and private off-street parking so that the parking system as a whole can adequately accommodate current and future development in Malden Center. Some of the recommendations of the MAPC study have been implemented, while MRA and the City continue to implement and work on parking management strategies to meet existing and future parking needs based on the new redevelopment projects and increased business activity. 2. Existing Parking Supply Parking supply represents the number of parking spaces provided. The number of on-street and off-street parking spaces was reviewed and field verified by the team. Parking fees, if any, and times of availability were also noted. westonandsampson.com | timhaahs.com 5 DOWNTOWN MALDEN PARKING FACILITIES ASSESSMENT, City of Malden/MRA PEDESTRIAN & BICYCLE SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS STUDY 2.1. On-Street Parking Supply The downtown study area encompasses 259 on-street parking spaces and 93% of the on-street parking supply is limited to 2 hours, with meters. Table 1 provides a list of the number of existing on-street parking spaces, by street, within the study area, and whether or not they are metered with a time limit. At the time of parking observations (May/June 2018), all on-street parking in the study area and the Pleasant Street Lot were free with time limits of either two hours or no limit at all. The City subsequently installed on-street meters for the studied streets and pay stations at the Pleasant Street Lot, effective late-June 2018 subsequent to our field data collection efforts. The meter rates are $1.00 per hour with 2-hour maximum time limits throughout