Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
Discussion
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION NO. 17-075, TO CREATE PREFERENTIAL PERMIT PARKING ZONE “G” ON RECREATION ROAD SOUTH OF CARSON STREET, AND REGULATING PARKING WITHIN THE ZONE (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
Recreation Road south of Carson Street provides access to two businesses: GoKart World and KIA. The operation and success of GoKart World is dependent on the ability of its customers to use the on-street parking spaces along both sides of Recreation Road. A request was submitted by GoKart World’s owner/operator to create a permit parking zone on both sides of Recreation Road south of Carson Street (Exhibit No. 1). A permit parking zone would render it illegal to park on Recreation Road unless a permit is placed on the dashboard. GoKart World would distribute the one-day permits to their customers. The objective of this request is to prevent the KIA automobile dealership (KIA) employees from parking on Recreation Road and occupying the spaces that are needed for GoKart World’s customers. Staff held several meetings with the owners of GoKart World and Car Pros KIA to ensure that they both agree with the permit parking zone proposal. In addition, an engineering consulting firm (Zimmerman & Associates) prepared a signing and striping plan for Recreation Road that would provide a safer and more orderly parking configuration and provide signage about the presence of pedestrians and the posted speed limit.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. WAIVE further reading and ADOPT Resolution No. 17-075, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA, TO CREATE PREFERENTIAL PERMIT PARKING ZONE “G” ON RECREATION ROAD SOUTH OF CARSON STREET, AND REGULATING PARKING WITHIN THE ZONE.
2. AUTHORIZE staff to implement the proposed signing and striping plan.
Body
III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action the City Council deems appropriate.
1. IV. BACKGROUND
History
GoKart World has approximately 20 parking spaces on their property. However, according to Mr. Bob Harris, the owner, it requires at least 80 additional parking spaces to accommodate the customer demand during peak business hours. On May 25, 1999, the Planning Commission adopted Resolution No. 99-1763 and approved Variance No. 401-97 to allow GoKart World to expand and use the parking spaces along Recreation Road to satisfy GoKart World’s parking requirements (Exhibit No. 2). The Planning Commission took this action by determining that the small lots on Recreation Road would not be conducive to large developments that create a need for on-street parking spaces on Recreation Road.
On April 22, 2014, Planning Commission approved the Car Pros Kia dealership. The approval included 165 parking spaces for employees and customers which met the number of parking spaces required by code. As part of the approval of the project, a portion of the terminus of Recreation Road was abandoned enlarging the site to accommodate the dealership. The success of the dealership has increased traffic and has brought into light the inherent issues of relying on on-street parking for businesses.
Parking on Recreation Road
Currently, many of the KIA employees park along Recreation Road and thereby occupy the spaces that are needed for GoKart World’s customers. Mr. Ken Philips, the Car Pros Kia owner, has attempted to prevent his employees from parking on Recreation Road; however, Recreation Road is a public street and anyone could park there. Mr. Harris and Mr. Philips have attempted to resolve the parking issue for some sometime now but the problem still persists. Finally, to rectify this situation, both parties approached the City to find a resolution. After serval meetings with the City, both parties agreed with the City that permit parking is the most viable solution.
Mr. Harris submitted a request for the City of Carson to create a permit parking zone on both sides of Recreation Road. Within this zone only cars with displayed permits on the windshield can legally park on Recreation Road. The City would only issue the permits to GoKart World who will in turn provide one-day permits to their customers.
Parking for Kia Employees
A permit parking program would eliminate Recreation Road as alternative parking spaces for Kia employees. Mr. Philips has indicated that this situation is acceptable to him. Mr. Philips has represented to the City that he will provide alternative off-site parking lots for his employees along with a shuttle service to and from these parking lots. Currently and in the immediate future, the previous Kia dealership site on Avalon Boulevard, the parking lot at the intersection of Carson Street and Recreation Road, and other parking lots as deemed appropriate by Mr. Philips will be used for this purpose. According to Mr. Philips, after the development of Carson Street and Perry Street storage lot which Mr. Phillips owns, some employee parking could be accommodated at that location.
Parking Permit Zone
Section 22507 of the California Vehicle Code, which is titled “Parking restrictions during certain hours; Preferential parking for residents and merchants,” states that “local authorities may, by ordinance or resolution, prohibit or restrict the stopping, parking, or standing of vehicles on certain streets or highways during all or certain hours of the day,” and that merchants may be issued a permit or permits that exempt them from the prohibition or restriction.
The attached Resolution No. 17-075 would create Preferential Permit Parking Zone “G” on both sides of Recreation Road south of Carson Street (Exhibit No. 3). It would specify that no motor vehicles shall be parked adjacent to any curb on Recreation Road between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and midnight, on all days of the week, unless the vehicle has a Zone “G” parking permit displayed on the dashboard. Adherence to this parking permit program will be enforced by the City. There would be no fees for the issuance of permits, as the one-day permits would be prepared and distributed by GoKart World representatives to their customers. The design of the permits would be developed by City of Carson staff.
Added Safety Measures
There have been no reported incidents on Recreation Road; however, the increased traffic and parking has prompted the City to add some safety measures. The following measures will be implemented by the City if approved by the City Council (Exhibit No. 4):
• Striping for parallel parking will encourage motorists to park as close as possible to the curb; therefore, leaving the maximum space for travel lanes;
• Painting red curb at the GoKart World driveways and end of Recreation Road near the KIA driveway will provide improved visibility for both drivers and pedestrians;
• Posting a 25 miles per hour would allow for safe movement of traffic;
• Pedestrian crossing warning signs would alert the drivers about the presence of pedestrians
• Bands of raised pavement markers (Botts’ Dots) will be installed for speed control.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
The cost of installing the pavement markings and signs along both sides of Recreation Road would be approximately $3,000.00. Funds for the signs and markings are available in the Public Works Sign Maintenance budget, account no. 01-80-820-083-6009. It is likely that revenue would be generated by the issuance of parking citations.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Letter from GoKart World requesting permit parking. (pgs. 5-6)
2. Resolution No. 99-1763. (pgs. 7-9)
3. Resolution No. 17-075. (pgs. 10-11)
4. Signing and Striping Plan for Recreation Road. (pg. 12)
Prepared by: Bill Zimmerman, Consultant Traffic Engineer