Martinez Set to Talk Downtown Parking and Rate Increase

On Wednesday, the Martinez City Council will hold a workshop to discuss its downtown parking infrastructure and rates.

The workshop will be informational in nature where the council will receive information and provide direction to staff on possible rate increases based on a study that began in 2019 and was completed in June 2022.

The study provides an in-depth assessment of downtown parking capacity and usage within the study area bound by Berrellesa Street, Susana Street, Grandview Avenue, and Marina Vista Avenue.

According to the Staff Report (below)

The Study concluded the parking demand does not meet or surpass the availability of on-street and off-street parking. However, due to several factors, including increased development and changes in State law prohibiting parking within 20 feet of the approach side of a marked or unmarked crosswalk and prohibiting requiring parking as part of a development within one half mile of public transit, demand for parking in downtown Martinez will continue to rise in the coming years

According to the Study, in 2019, before commuting patterns changed due to the pandemic, parking demand was below optimum peak-hour levels for the mid-day peak period. Notably, on-street parking utilization for both unmetered (free) and metered spaces remained at 50 percent and off-street parking lots operated on average at 87 percent during peak weekdays. The continued availability of parking spaces suggests adding additional parking spaces to the existing supply is not currently needed; however, certain parking corridors are more popular due to their proximity to amenities and services.

Additionally, since Martinez is the county seat of Contra Costa County, the parking impacts from the County Hospital, County Jail, Superior Court, and County Administration Building – all of which are in or near the downtown area – contribute to an outsize parking demand in key corridors beyond what would normally be expected for a city of Martinez’s size.

The Study recommended short and long-term strategies to reduce overall parking demand, shift parking demand toward underutilized modes, and keep parking availability at acceptable levels. Three of the study’s key recommendations were to:

• Adjust parking rates and limits along the most popular streets in Downtown;
• Deploy innovative technologies as the City replaces its parking meters; and
• Improve parking wayfinding to guide drivers to “right-fit” parking options.

On July 6, 2023, MTC approved the City’s Parking Management Capital grant application. The City’s award was the largest such award in Contra Costa County. Based on anticipated cost estimates, City staff held discussions with MTC staff about the possibility of increasing the grant award amount, and MTC staff were able to offer an additional $394,000, bringing the City’s total grant funding for the project to $1,269,000. The City committed to providing an additional $39,541 in matching funds, bringing the City’s total funding commitment to $164,541 and the total project fund to $1,433,541. A central element of the Parking Management Capital grant application was to implement innovative parking technologies to replace the existing parking meters

Technology Options include:

• Parking kiosks
• Updated parking meters
• ParkMobile

Parking Rates

Downtown Martinez has two-hour, four-hour, and 10-hour paid parking zones, with a uniform rate of 50 cents per hour. Paid parking is enforced Monday through Friday (excluding holidays), from 9:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.

Parking meter rates were last updated in 2013, when the rates for the 10-hour meters were raised from 25 cents per hour to 50 cents per hour, matching the two and four-hour meters. Staff was unable to locate information for when the rates for the two and four-hour meters were last updated.

At 50 cents per hour, Martinez’s parking meter rate is significantly lower than neighboring and comparable jurisdictions. A review of these rates and other relevant details can be found in Table 2 below.

*Lafayette’s parking meter rate was raised from $1.00 per hour to $2.00 per hour in October 2023. This rate had remained at $1.00 per hour since 2006, when it was raised from $0.50 per hour.

Staff also reviewed the jurisdictions of Concord, Hercules, Pittsburg, Pleasant Hill, and Benicia, but these jurisdictions do not have paid public parking facilities.

The City’s paid parking differs from neighboring jurisdictions in several important ways:

1. Parking rates between on-street spaces and off-street spaces are not differentiated (generally, off-street parking is less expensive than on-street parking in other jurisdictions);
2. At 50 cents per hour, parking costs half as much (or less) than in neighboring jurisdictions; and
3. Martinez does not enforce paid parking on Saturday, when most other jurisdictions do (and some enforce seven days a week)

Cumulatively, these differences mean that Martinez functionally subsidizes on and off-street parking relative to neighboring jurisdictions. The low rates also decrease parking space turnover in the Downtown, particularly along Main Street, and incentivize local employees to park in high-demand spaces, decreasing availability for customers.

Crucially, the City does not currently recoup its full parking maintenance costs from parking revenue. For 2024, $571,000 of revenue is projected against $583,454 of maintenance and employee expenses, resulting in an impact on the General Fund of $12,454. This financial impact will be more pronounced over time as expenses increase.

Staff seeks direction from the City Council on the following:

1. Which top three aforementioned goals should be prioritized?
2. What additional information is needed regarding the technology options?
3. What additional information is needed regarding the potential parking rate changes?

Next Steps

Based on the information and direction gathered from this workshop, City staff will work on developing specific technology scenarios, supplemented by maps and cost/revenue analyses, along with a proposal for a potential update to the parking meter rates, which will be shared with Downtown Martinez & Co., the Chamber of Commerce, and downtown businesses before being brought back to the City Council at a future meeting for review.

The City of Martinez is also working with GNU Group to develop a Wayfinding sign program for the downtown.

Fiscal Impact

The MTC grant funding ($1,269,000) and the City’s committed matching funding ($164,541) are sufficient to cover the cost of the new parking infrastructure. Expenses are expected to occur during the 2025-26 Fiscal Year. The fiscal impact of each of the technology options will be calculated for the City Council’s consideration, prior to making a final determination.

• Staff Report – Click here
• Downtown Parking Study – click here

If You Go
Martinez City Council Meeting
DATE: October 2, 2024
TIME: 5:30 PM – Study Session
7:00 PM – Regular Session
PLACE: Council Chamber, 525 Henrietta Street, Martinez, CA 94553; and via Zoom
City Council agenda – click here

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