According to the local press, P and D in Seattle has increased the parking revenue almost 50% over the past couple of years. Read about it here. Seems that Pay and Display increases income without increasing the rates — folks buy the maximum using credit cards, easier to enforce, no "doubling up" as with standard parking meters. Of course, they are also covering many spaces not under a "fee" before.
Now the city is going to add more meters to increase revenue even more by covering areas not formerly covered by meters. So far so good.
I have two questions about this project — First — where is the money going (Anyone want to guess its into the general fund) and Second — how does the price for on street parking compare with off street parking (Anyone want to guess that it costs less than off street).
The story comments that the merchants want controlled parking — however do the merchants realize that they could have their sidewalks paved with gold if the money was returned to the neighborhoods from wince it came?
My guess is "nope" — that money is just gone gone gone.
Thanks to Rick Anderson
J
One Response
P&D may well be a good thing for Seattle and parking in general, but this article fails to make that case. It says annual parking revenue has increased by $6.1m since the installation of about 1000 P&D kiosks at a cost of approximately $1300 per space. But it also says that citywide parking rates increased by 50% in 2004 and that “hundreds” of formerly free spaces are now controlled by the kiosks.
The 50% rate increase increased Seattle’s annual parking revenue by $4.9m. Had Seattle installed a few hundred old-fashioned meters to monetize the additional spaces covered by the kiosks, annual parking revenue would probably have climbed by another $200-$500,000. Apparently, Seattle invested more than $10m on P&D kiosks which increase annual revenue by less than $1m.
The P&D kiosks offer much-needed pricing flexibility and some driver convenience, but they don’t reduce the need for enforcement officers to troll for violations. Perhaps Seattle and other areas would be better off exploring parking solutions that provide pricing flexibility, driver convenience, and also address the high cost of parking enforcement. Some of the new sensor-based solutions combined with a phone-based payment system do just that and can be installed for far less than $1300 per space.