Downtown Atlanta Parking Assessment Existing Conditions FINAL REPORT June 2014 FINAL REPORT Introduction Downtown Atlanta is thriving as one of the premier urban centers in the Southeastern United States. On a daily basis, the streets bustle with people from all walks of life. Students walk to campus to attend class at Georgia State University. Doctors and nurses head to Grady Memorial Hospital or Emory University Hospital Midtown to treat patients. Businessmen and women walk to work at one of the many high-rise office buildings that dominate the Atlanta sky-line. Government employees head to the Georgia State Capitol or Atlanta City Hall. Atlanta Falcons fans catch a football game at the Georgia Dome. Residents walk home to their urban neighborhood in the Fairlie- Poplar District. Out of town visitors experience something new and exciting, engaging wildlife at the Georgia Aquarium or engaging their senses at the World of Coca-Cola. New destinations awaken in the Downtown fabric on a daily basis, with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and the College Football Hall of Fame opening in the very near future. The diversity in all that Downtown Atlanta has to offer draws an equally diverse set of people into the city’s central hub for activity. To accommodate ebb and flow, the City provides a number of transportation opportunities to serve its visitors, residents, and commuters. In addition to the extensive public transportation services that connect Downtown to the surrounding region, there are a multitude of options for drivers to access their destination via personal vehicle. Nearly 93,000 parking spaces serve Downtown motorists as they reach their final destinations. Beyond transportation, countless efforts are underway which are centered on the betterment of Atlanta for current and future generations. The vision of the future of Downtown Atlanta includes cultivating development at all scales and within many areas of the City and facilitating future growth in a sustainable manner. Parking plays a role in the achievement of these goals, as it is a primary link between the people and the places of Downtown Atlanta. In combination with other citywide efforts, strategically planning for the future of the City’s parking assets and improving the customer parking experience should be a key focus to help reach the grander goal of a better Downtown. Prepared for Central Atlanta Progress/Atlanta Downtown Improvement District◉ Prepared by Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. ◉ June 2014 FINAL REPORT THE DOWNTOWN ATLANTA PARKING system that is easy to use, easy to access, and is consistent ASSESSMENT in terms of payment, and high standards of security and facility maintenance. All of which support a positive parking experience The Downtown Atlanta Parking Assessment is being conducted for Downtown travelers. to evaluate strategies to enhance the parking system, including an evaluation of how public and private spaces can be used more While this is not the only recommendation driving this planning efficiently to promote a vibrant Downtown. Although there are process, it is central in the goal of achieving a more holistic more than 93,000 parking spaces available in Downtown Atlanta, and succinct parking system, accompanied by improvements a public perception of parking is that parking is difficult to find and to technology, operations, marketing, education, and overall confusing to use. For the City, changing this perception is an branding of the system. In addition to developing the framework ongoing challenge. With that in mind, a partnership between the for establishing a parking collaborative, the updated parking Downtown Atlanta business community (led by Central Atlanta assessment will also include recommendations for technological Progress and Atlanta Downtown Improvement District [CAP/ improvements to support the improved access for vehicles to ADID]), the City and private parking management firms was and from Downtown parking facilities. formed to review and update Downtown’s parking characteristics and policies. The intent is to make recommendations for strategies and tools to educate the public on Downtown’s PHASE 1 - EXISTING CONDITIONS parking and transportation assets and the importance of parking The study was separated into three distinct phases, which define management on traffic circulation and accessibility, quality of life, the structure of this document as well. These three phases were: and economic livelihood. The process is focused on developing -Existing Conditions Review, including a review of previ ס implementation ready tools that enhance the customer experience and promote a more balanced parking system. The ous planning efforts in the area, introductory stakeholder recommendations will likely include technology enhancements, outreach to define the perception and operation of parking educational and outreach strategies, branding and messaging in the area, and a review of programs who have dealt with improvements, and partnerships between the public and private similar initiatives, primarily the conversion of private park- realm to create the impression of a more holistic parking system. ing into a public-private collaborative. Review of Potential Strategies, including documenta- ס Led by Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) and the Atlanta tion of potential strategies, review of stakeholder outreach Downtown Improvement District (ADID), with the support of regarding these strategies, and final recommendations for the City of Atlanta and funding from the region’s metropolitan strategies to carry forward into the recommendation phase. planning organization, the project kicked off in July 2013 and Implementation Tools and Plans, including specific ס aims to be substantially complete by Spring 2014. Partnerships with the Downtown parking community, including the City’s implementation strategies and tools, as well as an Action privatized on-street parking management firm – ParkAtlanta – Plan defining roles, responsibilities, phasing, and cost have benefited the study’s objectives to efficiently review the estimates for potential recommendations. current state of on street and off street parking in Downtown, - - As part of this initial exercise, Downtown Atlanta’s parking assets revisit key recommendations and policies from previous parking have been studied to identify supplies, analyze demands, and studies, and define and develop a collaborative, implementation- review their purpose in the overall transportation system. The ready toolbox of solutions for managing the public perception goal is to determine opportunities to best manage and support of parking Downtown. Unlike past studies which have focused this asset as a primary link to the many Downtown destinations, on a plan, this project’s primary objective is the creation and while more efficiently utilizing parking spaces to minimize future implementation of tools that the City and Downtown stakeholders demands and reduce the burden on public infrastructure. can use immediately to begin addressing questions and issues affecting the view of parking Downtown. The final planning document will include narrative summaries of each of these phases, as well as specific recommendations CAP/ADID and the City previously conducted a Downtown and strategies associated with the final implementation plan Parking Demand Management Action Plan in 2007, which and toolset for CAP/ADID and the Downtown Atlanta Parking reviewed the Downtown parking conditions and provided System. However, the remainder of this document will focus on strategies for improving the parking system. Out of a number the first phase above and the results of the existing conditions of recommendations provided to better the overall Downtown review. parking experience, one in particular has influenced the creation of this updated report. This recommendation encouraged the Figure shows the overall study area for the project, which City to review the potential for creating a parking collaborative includes the parking system contained generally within the ADID comprised of the private parking operators, the City, and CAP/ boundary. ADID to accomplish parking initiatives as an undivided front. The goal of the parking collaborative is to create a cohesive parking Prepared for Central Atlanta Progress/Atlanta Downtown Improvement District◉ Prepared by Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. ◉ June 2014 FINAL REPORT Figure 1 – Project Study Area Prepared for Central Atlanta Progress/Atlanta Downtown Improvement District◉ Prepared by Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. ◉ June 2014 FINAL REPORT Downtown Atlanta Parking Assessment Goals and Objectives The following goals and objectives were developed to guide the Downtown Atlanta Parking Assessment in the creation of a framework to manage and support the area’s parking assets. These objectives will act as the foundation as recommendations, implementation plans, policies, and program structures are developed to support the needs and context of Downtown Atlanta’s parking system. Define a Clear Vision and Purpose • Identify the core purpose of the parking system • Identify strategic partners and stakeholders • Find the balance in public-private partnerships Identify mutual benefits for private and public entities Create an environment for both sides to flourish Remove the perception of a divide between public and private systems Manage Downtown’s Parking Assets and Promote the Functionality of Existing Facilities • Refresh and update inventory and utilization information