RE: Status of Parking Audit
Annette Mills
Land Use Action Team members,
Please see the email below from Katherine Bremser, Chair of the LWV Community Planning Committee, regarding the status of the parking audit.
From: Katherine Bremser LAST_NAME [mailto:kbre...@comcast.net]
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2022 4:35 PM
I sent an e-mail to Public Works asking about the status of the parking audit. In case you are interested, here's the answer I got. They do have a website now: Corvallis Public Parking Audit | Corvallis Oregon
Katherine
---------- Original Message ----------
From: "O'Neal, Maya" <Maya....@corvallisoregon.gov>
To: Katherine Bremser LAST_NAME <kbre...@comcast.net>
Cc: "Scherf, Lisa" <Lisa....@corvallisoregon.gov>, "Rowan, Rory" <Rory....@corvallisoregon.gov>
Date: 12/13/2022 4:08 PM
Subject: RE: Status of Parking Audit
Katherine,
Thank you for your inquiry. I will try to give as much information as I can.
My name is Maya O’Neal, and I was hired as the Public Parking Coordinator in August 2022. One of my primary functions is to address the findings from the public parking audit. While the audit implementation strategy was initially developed in 2020 and scheduled to be enacted in 2021, the pandemic delayed these dates significantly. As I am new in this position, it is my goal to make thoughtful and careful decisions for improvements, without rushing to complete task items. It is important to me that the changes and improvements we provide are for the betterment of the community.
The public parking audit contained a number of recommendations, some of which are significant changes that will require long-range planning to implement. There were recommendations to update the parking payment technology, including new smart meters and mobile payment options, creating a downtown management area, and converting the free customer parking area to paid parking. These are changes that will need extensive consideration and evaluation before decisions are made about how to best implement improvements. We understand there is much room to improve the customer experience so parking can benefit residents and local businesses to the best of our ability.
We anticipate collecting new occupancy and usage data in the next few months that will be valuable when making these decisions. Climate Friendly and Equitable Communities regulations have begun to be implemented which will affect parking but also local businesses and land uses. I am currently drafting legislative updates for Residential Parking Districts to include intent and purpose and updating the parking meter section to include additional parking payment methods to allow for mobile payments. I am also coordinating with our Parking Enforcement officers and Municipal Court staff to ensure any changes we make are beneficial to our entire team. I will be evaluating the free customer parking area and reviewing the recommendations for a downtown management area. I intend to balance the need for parking with the needs of residents and business owners by developing an improved parking experience.
These are a few of the projects I am currently working on. There are many more recommendations from the public parking audit that will still need to be addressed, so I am sure 2023 will be a busy year for Parking. If you or your committee members have ideas, suggestions, or recommendations, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Public Parking Coordinator
City of Corvallis | Public Works
Office: 541-766-6725