LTC 234-2005 Saint Patrick's Church On-Street Parking Issues Update
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
Office of the City Manager
Letter to Commission No. 234-2005
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Subject:
Mayor David Dermer and Date: September 7, 2005
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez J. J:.../
City Manager f' ()
SAINT PATRICK'S HURCH ION-STREET PARKING ISSUES - UPDATE
To:
From:
The Administration continues to work with Saint Patrick's Church and the surrounding
residential neighborhood in order to ameliorate the parking challenges in the area,
particularly during various services at the church. The Parking and CIP Departments
contracted Carney-Neuhaus, Inc., a local engineering firm to survey the neighborhood
within the boundaries of 40th Street to the north, 34th Street to the south, Alton Road to the
west, and North Meridian Avenue to the east. Carney-Neuhaus, Inc. provided
recommendations to convert various blocks from parallel parking to angle parking as well
standardization of all parking configurations in the area. This recommendation will only
increase on-street parking from 160 existing spaces to 169 proposed spaces for a net
increase of nine spaces or 5.4%. While any increase to the parking inventory is a
welcomed one, it is the Administration's recommendation to effectuate this reconfiguration
as street improvements are scheduled over time.
Saul Frances, Parking Director; Chuck Adams, Assistant Parking Director; and Hiram
Siaba, Senior Capital Projects Coordinator met with Monsignor Vaughn, Saint Patrick's
Church to discuss these initiatives and recommendations. Monsignor Vaughn understood
and agreed with this strategy. Moreover, Saint Patrick's is researching and reviewing
various innovative concepts to address their parking challenges that the City's Planning,
Parking, and CIP departments will provide guidance from a regulatory perspective.
Notwithstanding these initiatives, the Parking Department will continue to honor its
commitment to Saint Patrick's Church in the form of a variety of parking programs in order
to accommodate parishioners during regular and/or holiday services. These programs
include: (1) House of Worship Program; (2) surrounding municipal surface parking lots that
are available at no charge after 6:00 P.M.; and (3) "kinder and gentler" enforcementtactics.
As you may recall, the House of Worship Parking Program has been a successful program
for temples and churches throughout the City. The House of Worship Program is a pre-
paid decal purchased by the religious entity and distributed to the congregation at their
discretion. Locations, days, and hours of the permit are contingent upon the needs of the
religious institution. Secondly, surface parking lots in the vicinity of Saint Patrick's Church
are available at no charge to parishioners after 6:00 P.M. for evening services (meters are
enforced 8:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.lseven day a week). Lastly, the Parking Department's
"kinder and gentler" enforcement tactics such as requesting drivers to move their vehicles
prior to issuing a citation has been very successful citywide. S1. Patrick's Church has also
been proactive by providing announcements (written and verbal) to its parishioners urging
them to park legally. Blatant safety violations, included but not limited to, parking at
crosswalks, disabled spaces, fire hydrants, bus stops, and/or obstruction of traffic, are
strictly enforced.
The Parking Department will continue having communications with Saint Patrick's Church
in an effort to enhance parking services for their parishioners. If you have any questions
or need any additional information, please contact Saul Frances, Parking Director at
extension 6483 or me at extension 6637.
Electronic Copy: Management Team
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