2. Downtown History
• Really two sections of downtown
• Old retail section to East
• New restaurant and factory section to East
• East – mostly vacant at night, busy during day
• West – restaurants, nighttime, commuters,
trying to redevelop
3. Pay for Parking – 35 Years of Debate!
• Haverhill installed parking meters in 1950’s
• Parking meters removed 1970’s
• Pay for parking plans defeated 2004, 2006,
2008
• Plan approved 2012
• Parking meters reinstalled August, 2012
4. 2004 – Two Plans Defeated
• Effort to revitalize western end
• Did parking study – for parking garage
• Submitted first “pay for parking” plan
Included all of downtown – East & West sections
Plan defeated – too big
New plan submitted, Berman – defeated, too small!
• Real reason – no buy in, too much opposition in
the room
5. 2006
Parking Improvement District
• Western end only
• No meters on Merrimack Street
• Parking permits available
• Implement parking program in phases
• All proceeds go to downtown to keep area
cleaner, safer & more aesthetically pleasing
• Defeated – no buy in
6. 2010 Parking Garage Adds Impetus
• Had “reason” to support the parking garage
• Fear that if garage charged and free on street,
no one would park in garage
• Outside consultant
key to passage
7. New Plan, Summer 2012
• Lots of input
• Many public hearings
• Key: Examine key opposition, try to keep them
out of the room
8. Plan Outline
• Two plans for two sides of downtown
• East Side– Keep them out of the room!
No charge for on street parking
Charge in lots 8 am to 8 PM
Two hours free in front of garage
Lots of free parking on outskirts
PMA Lot free
9. Plan Outline West Side
Charge on street from 8 AM to 8 PM
Permit parking $30/hour
Free up spaces for restaurants
11. The Opposition
• PMA - Our patients
• Businesses - $30 per month will put us out of
business
• Meters - $1/hour will kill us
• LAST MINUTE OPPOSITION
Local deli – will kill our morning business
12. Compromises to Gain Passage
• Price cut in half (mistake)
• First two hours free at PMA
• Free spaces for bank
• But – drew the line at leasing spaces
• Pledge to fix up downtown
• Council gets to decide on rates: MISTAKE
• DELI: No on-street parking before 3 PM
• Night of vote, merchants come to meeting to
support it.
• Plan passes 6-3
13. Plan Tweaked– All Plans Evolve
• Complaint:
Shortage Permit spaces
• Compromise:
Add more free spaces
Reverse Angle in parking
More permit spaces added
14. Update:
January 2013
• More people parking downtown
• More people using MVRTA garage
• Merchants expressing positive comments relative to
their customers finding parking
15. City of Haverhill – Parking Services
(Year to Date)
Total Year to Date
# Month # of Days Meter Revenue Revenue
1 August 23 11,924.00$ 172,175$
2 September 20 11,624.00$
3 October 23 13,235.00$
4 November 22 12,621.00$
5 December 21 12,976.00$
6 January (2013) 22 -$
7 February 21 -$
8 March 22 -$
9 April 21 -$
10 May 23 -$
11 June 21 -$
12 July 22 -$
Totals 261 62,380.00$
SP Plus
Permit $ # of Permits Permit Revenue
30.00$ Qrt 1 Permits 867 25,785.00$
45.00$ Qrt 2 Permits 278 12,024.00$
45.00$ Qrt 3 Permits 237 10,584.00$
45.00$ Qrt 4 Permits 0 -$
9 months 112.50$ Annual Permits 547 61,402.00$
Total Permit Sales 1,929 109,795.00$
Notes:
Aug through Dec revenues are actuals
# of days = Mon through Friday when pay to park
Parking Revenues - FY 2013
22. 22
4-6PM, 2010 4-6PM, 2012
Thursday 4-6PM
Late Afternoon
Lot pricing keeps utilization lower… ….while street pricing is not discouraging its use
23. 23
6-8PM, 2010 6-7PM, 2012
Thursday 6-8PM
Dinnertime
On-street utilization used to be high… …but it is still fairly high today,
…because lots are no cheaper than streets?
24. 24
6-8PM, 2010 7-8PM, 2012
Thursday 7-8PM
Dining & Entertainment
Parking lots have availability with pricing…. …but sustained on-street demand
suggests on-street prices are low
25. Lessons Learned
1. Get a consultant– key to passage
2. Do loads of public hearings, there are never enough
3. Keep most of the opposition out of the room!
4. Try to only charge people from out of town
Most popular part of program is getting commuters off the streets
5. Don’t compromise with intractable foes– they are
always going to be opposed;
6. Don’t give away the ship on pricing, someone opposed
to $1 per hour is just as opposed to 50 cents an hour
7. Tweak it all the time!
25
26. Key Conclusions
Pricing has made parking available in lots and the Goeke
Deck, which used to be filled up (good)
Pricing has driven commuters into the MVRTA garage
(good)
Pricing has driven people to the free spaces
The imbalance in the daytime pricing system is reducing
utilization in priced facilities, filling free facilities.
Permits have helped create availability in the Deck and
lots, but the high buy-up proved the price was too low.
27. Today
Spaces freed up by moving people to free areas
Commuters moved out of key downtown locations
Restaurants in Western end generally happy, can find
spaces
BUT…
People in east side who were opposed are still opposed
Not enough revenue generated
East side streets are crowded
Opposition still exists to paying on street
27
Notes de l'éditeur
The same on- and off- street spaces were compared for the 2010 and 2012 utilizations charts, with the exception of:The addition of the MVRTA in the 2012 chartIn the 2012 charts, the 6PM count does not include utilization in the Haverhill Place and Merrimack Lots as well as the MVRTAIn the 2012 charts utilization at 6PM and 7PM do not include on-street spaces east of and including Washington Square.
The same on- and off- street spaces were compared for the 2010 and 2012 utilizations charts, with the exception of:The addition of the MVRTA in the 2012 chartIn the 2012 charts, the 6PM count does not include utilization in the Haverhill Place and Merrimack Lots as well as the MVRTAIn the 2012 charts utilization at 6PM and 7PM do not include on-street spaces east of and including Washington Square.
The same on- and off- street spaces were compared for the 2010 and 2012 utilizations charts, with the exception of:The addition of the MVRTA in the 2012 chartIn the 2012 charts, the 6PM count does not include utilization in the Haverhill Place and Merrimack Lots as well as the MVRTA and the 7PM does not include the Merrimack and Haverhill Place Lots.In the 2012 charts utilization at 6PM and 7PM do not include on-street spaces east of and including Washington Square.