C4H-Ref- PTC And NCAC - Discussion Of Parking In City Of Miami Beach -Bower-MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR AND COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
To: Jimmy Morales, City Manager
From: Matti Herrera Bower, Mayor
Date: June 12, 2013
Re: PARKING
Please place on the City Commission Agenda for July 17, 2013, a referral to the next Parking
and Transportation Committee and the next Neighborhood/Community Affairs Committee a
comprehensive discussion of parking in the City of Miami Beach.
Mobility continues to be a weak point in our City. According to our most recent City-wide
satisfaction Survey, only 23% of residents and 34%of business owners' rate traffic flow on
Miami Beach as excellent or good. This is a decrease in satisfaction from the last survey on
2008/09. A major cause of congestion on Miami Beach stems from the perceived and real
lack of available parking.
This City Commission has been asked to consider several changes to our parking
ordinances, through the creation of new zones and the reductions of parking requirements.
These changes have been done independently of any comprehensive reevaluation of the
current parking supply and utilization, and without any regard to the future development of
our City and those impacts on the transportation network.
While it may be time to look at our parking polices in light of changing demographics, car
ownership, and concerns for our environment, to do so in a piecemeal fashion, without a
comprehensive look at the effects of our actions outside of the zones the parking polices
address is shortsighted. Further, the stated objective of these recently proposed changes
have all been to incentivize development. I believe that Miami Beach does not need to
incentivize development and any future adjustments to our parking policies should be with
the intent of increasing the availability, distribution, and utilization of our entire, integrated
transportation network.
And I believe 63% of our residents would agree with me, as they rate that parking availability
throughout the City as not right.
A holistic approach to parking and transportation is needed in our City. To help me and the
rest of my Commissioners understand the issues completely to allow us to be better
equipped to formulate good policies that will drive our intended outcomes, I pose the
following questions in light of observations I have made as a long-time resident navigating
the streets of Miami Beach, often in search of a place to park my car:
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Agenda Item C 'I If
Date 7-17-13
I would like to know, garage by garage, lot by lot, the total number of spaces, and the
number of spaces in each facility that is available for monthly parking decals, the number of
monthly parkers that are in each facility and the number of people on waiting lists for monthly
parking decals at each location. I also would like to know the valet usage in each garage and
lot. I would like to know peak times for parking consumption by facility and the distribution of
those peak times by user: either monthly or transient.
I would like to know the hours and days of operation for each facility. I have noticed
that the P lot is often locked. This high-capacity facility is located in our City Center where
parking is always scarce.
I would like a map of each residential parking zone we have established; the
estimated number of available spaces in each zone; the hours of the restrictions; the number
of people who have decals in each zone and the number of households in each zone.
I would like to know what developments have been submitted for approval, or are
being discussed with the Planning Department, that take advantage of the new Parking
District Number 5 and the date the ordinance creating that zone sunsets.
As we evaluate the creation of Parking District Number 6, I think it would be
important to know what the parking requirement for the current retail environment is at the
Fifth and Alton Shops; what the future requirement would be if all the available retail space
was occupied; and how the Planning Department coordinated with the Parking Department
to determine the usage of the spaces they deemed to be "underutilized" in the creation of the
proposed Parking District Number 6 and how those spaces would be partitioned to serve
developments that take advantage of the parking reductions. In addition, I would like to learn
how the provisions in the development agreement between the City and Berkowitz/Eden
would support the long-term assignment of spaces in the facility as a way to meet the
parking requirement of adjacent developments.
Should you have any questions, please contact Gabrielle Redfern at Extension 6157.
Thank you.
MHB/fgr
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