Beautification Edition - 1736 Magazine, Summer 2019

STUCK IN PARK
City still mulls paid-parking plan
From STAFF REPORTS
PARKING PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Use a third-party management company, obtained through a request for
proposals
• Paid spaces placed on Broad Street between Fifth and 13th streets, side
streets, Greene Street
• Residential parking permits available in certain areas
• Two-hour limit in paid spaces from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., $1 to $1.25 per hour fee
• Allow parking lot and deck owners to "bolt on" to third-party system
• Enforcement by third-party manager using various methods: booting, limiting
tag renewal, mediation by retired judge
• Reinvest proceeds into better lighting, repairs and improvements
• Better signage and maps to direct motorists to parking
Source: City of Augusta
A woman walks down the sidewalk in the 1000 block of Broad St. in downtown Augusta.
City officials are still working on implementing a parking-management system that
involves paid parking through a contractor. [FILE/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]
It won't meet Mayor Hardie Davis' lofty July
goal, but downtown Augusta is likely closer
to having paid, on-street parking.
One of four parking management firms
who bid for the work in May has been selected
and is currently reviewing the city's recommended
requirements to prepare an estimate,
said Marcus Campbell, Davis' chief of staff.
The firms who submitted bids were Lanier
Parking Solutions, which recently implemented
an over 1,000-space system in Macon; Standard
Parking Plus, which boasts managing 2 million
spaces including on-street city of Atlanta
spaces; Parking Company of America, which
manages parking in Dallas and other large
cities using the Passport app and ABM Parking
Services, which recently replaced traditional
meters with kiosk in downtown Scranton, Pa.
Advocates for a parking management plan
include the Downtown Development Authority,
which says slow turnover of downtown spaces
discourages new businesses from locating in the
central business district.
Broad Street had parking meters from 1947
to 1978, but they were removed to discourage
suburban flight to Augusta's new shopping
malls. Davis announced in January he wanted
the system in place by July.
The new program may allow private lots and
garages to become a part of the paid network,
while residential permits may be issued for Ellis,
Greene and side-street residents.
Augusta procurement documents say the
qualifications sought from the companies are
for “physical operation, management, revenue
collection etc.,” of a parking management
system.
The winning vendor is expected to present a
timeline for meeting with the city’s parking task
force, public outreach, a “final draft review”
of a commission presentation, a commission
presentation and implementation.
The task force spearheaded by Davis’ office
developed over the last year a set of recommendations
that include a two-hour limit on parking
from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Broad Street between
Fifth and 13th streets. The recommended fee to
park is $1 to $1.25 per hour.
Meters won’t be installed. Motorists will
locate parking and pay to park using their
smartphones, or at a kiosk.
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