A map highlighting the free 2-hour “courtesy” parking spaces in downtown Jamestown.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council will be reviewing a plan to increase downtown parking rates and fines when it meets tonight at city hall. Another proposal would eliminate the long-standing, two-hour Free Parking Zone located in the core of the downtown.

As part of his 2021 executive budget, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist is calling for an increase in revenue from both downtown parking as well as from fines for parking violations. He said the increased revenue would come from anticipated hikes in parking rates as well as parking fines.

Sundquist will present specific details of his parking proposal on Monday night. According to the meeting pre-file documents, the plan involves increasing metered parking by 50 cents an hour and also increase fines by $5.

• VIEW THE COMPLETE OCT. 19 WORK SESSION AGENDA

The current rate for parking meters is 50 cents an hour, meaning the new rate would  increase to $1 an hour.  Metered parking in downtown Jamestown is in place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during non-holiday weekdays. Meanwhile, a standard parking ticket for Jamestown costs $10, but would increase to $15 under Sundquist’s proposal.

The adjustments are expected to help raise revenue for the city budget.

• For parking violations, the mayor is calling for an 11% increase in revenue (+$24,000) over 2019 . However, that is still 5.4% (-$14,000) lower than the revenue that was originally projected in the final 2020 budget.
• For On-Street Parking Meters, the mayor is calling for an 18.5% increase in revenue (+$29,000) over 2019.
• And for Parking Lots and Garages, the mayor is calling for a 21.5% increase in revenue (+$15,000) over 2019.
  (We are comparing the numbers to 2019 instead of 2020, because of the current year being impacted by COVID-19)

COUNCIL TO CONSIDER REMOVING DOWNTOWN FREE PARKING ZONE

The council will also discuss a proposed ordinance to eliminate the courtesy (free) parking zone and increasing downtown owner parking permit costs. The proposals, again from Sundquist, are intended to help generate more parking revenue for the city.

The courtesy parking zone is located along Third Street from Washington Street to Spring Street, and also on Cherry, Main, and Pine Streets, between Second and Fourth Streets.

Three years ago the city council also considered eliminating the zone, under a recommendation from an ad hoc Downtown Parking Commission created by then-mayor Sam Teresi. However, the council ultimately tabled the ordinance because there wasn’t any funding to pay for additional meters downtown, there was no need to immediately act on the matter.

In late 2017, WRFA spoke with 15 different downtown businesses located in the courtesy parking zones, and learned that all but two of them were opposed to removing the free parking zone. The businesses also said the parking commission never consulted with them prior to putting forward the recommendation. It’s not know if mayor Sundquist and his staff have approached downtown businesses to get their thought on the matter.

In addition to helping increase revenue for the city, the 2017 study also noted that the free parking zone creates challenges for parking enforcement as the reason for eliminating it.

Monday’s work session begins at 7:30 p.m. and will streamed at the city website due to COVID-19.

A map depicting the current layout of parking spaces in downtown Jamestown, as of November 2017. Recommendations from the city’s ad hoc downtown parking committee would make several changes to downtown parking, including the removal of the two-hour free parking zone in the heart of the downtown.

JAMESTOWN – After nearly a year-and-a-half of meetings and research, the city of Jamestown’s ad hoc Parking Advisory Committee has come forward with recommendations on how to improve parking in the downtown.

During Monday’s Jamestown City Council work session, representatives from the committee were on hand to provide a report that highlighted solutions to the problems and challenges associated with downtown parking as it relates to people who live, work, and/or visit the downtown.

The ad hoc committee was established by Mayor Sam Teresi in July 2016 to study downtown parking and bring forward recommendations. the committee was comprised of representatives of downtown businesses and destinations, along with city officials.

• READ FULL POWER POINT PRESENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS

Among the solutions that were brought forward:

• All two-hour meters converted to three-hour meters.
• All exceptions to remain in place (i.e. 30-minute meters, load/unload zones, handicapped spots etc.)
• All non-lease surface lot meters converted to 12-hours.
• 12-hour meters will be placed on the outskirts of the Central Business District (i.e. 5th and 6th Streets)
• Improve the fairness of enforcement by eliminating the confusing “courtesy zone” [“Free Zone”].
• Clarify parking regulation signage throughout the former “courtesy zone.”
• Current “courtesy zone” spaces converted to three-hour meters.
• THERE WILL BE NO INCREASE IN PARKING FEES!
  • Parking ramp and lease space rates will remain the same.
  • Fees will remain $.25 per 1⁄2 hour, $.50 per hour for Central Business District and 12-hour surface lots.
  • Fees for 12-hour, outskirt meters will be decreased to $.25 per hour.
• Make paying for parking convenient and flexible by installing multi-function, “smart” meters.
  • Continue to accept coins.
  • Accept credit card payments.
  • Set up a pay-by-phone app that is integrated with or independent of “smart” meters.
• Implement a more user-friendly signage system for lease/non-lease spots in surface lots.
• Implement signage program to easily identify public parking facilities.
• Design and implement a wayfinding system to lead motorists to attractions and long-term parking for those attractions.

All recommendations will be presented to the city’s Strategic Planning and Partnership Commission on Thursday morning, Nov. 16 and will then be considered by city lawmakers for possible implementation, most likely next year.