Centro San Antonio and the City of San Antonio have hired a consultant to perform a downtown parking analysis that city officials hope will help attract more locals and businesses downtown.
One of the biggest aversions to coming downtown is the stress of finding and paying for parking, Centro President and CEO Pat DiGiovanni told City Council members during a B Session briefing on Wednesday.
“If we want to attract more employers downtown, the first question they ask is, ‘Where are my employees going to park?’” DiGiovanni said. “(While locals) want to be able to park once and go to four or five places when visiting downtown.”
It’s a classic problem for most cities, but the study will determine whether there is a real or only perceived shortage of parking. It could be that adequate parking is available, but too few drivers understand how to locate it.
“(Parking) may not be an actual barrier, but a mental barrier,” Mayor Ivy Taylor said.
There are more than 15,000 parking spaces in the Central Business District, City Manager Sheryl Sculley said, regardless if that’s enough, “perceptions are real.”
The apparent demand for more downtown parking is real enough for developers to have planned two new major parking garages. A 10-level, 500-space parking garage is planned for the corner of Commerce and Navarro streets. The project, a joint effort between Silver Ventures and Hixon Properties, received conceptual approval from the City’s Historic and Design Review Commission this month. The Tobin Center for the Performing Arts Board Chair J. Bruce Bugg Jr. appeared before City Council and County Commissioners earlier this month, asking them to split the costs of a $16 million parking garage for its patrons.
The study was scheduled to be completed by the end of this year, but Centro, a nonprofit that manages the downtown public improvement district (PID) operations and membership, and the City are still working with national consultant firm Kimley-Horn, to define the scope of the study, DiGiovanni said. The study could cover a portion of the PID or a portion of the larger business district. Total cost estimate of the study is also yet to be determined.
The first part of the study will essentially be an analysis of parking supply (inventory) and demand. The second part, he said, “is looking at the best management practices for operating a public parking system and how we bring other elements into the equation – it’s really about asset management.”
Those elements include rideshare, carshare, valet services, and mass transit – particularly VIA’s free downtown circulator and its potential to connect with periphery parking options. The E (“entertainment”) route runs every 10 minutes from 6 p.m. to midnight, Tuesday through Saturday. VIA is considering service expansion to Southtown and River North near the Pearl. The ability to park – or live – a mile or two away in the urban core and hop a small bus into the heart of downtown could be appealing to those that would rather avoid crowded downtown streets during major events or rush hours.
Ultimately, however, DiGiovanni hopes that San Antonians move away from a car-centric culture, but for the time being parking is a necessary evil.
“The default question for every event or development is, ‘Where am I going to park?’” DiGiovanni said after the meeting. He’d like to see that question become something more along the lines of: Where can I lock up my bike? Which bus drops me off closest?
“Technology is going to change everything,” he added, pointing to a recent report by Lux Research that by 2030, the self-driving car market is expected to reach $87 billion. “Whether or not car ownership will be a big deal in the future, I have no idea.
“The projection for cellphone use in the 80s (for) 1995 was 900,000 people. It turned out to be 105 million people.”
After a recent board retreat, Centro San Antonio narrowed its goals for downtown to focus on five areas: adding housing, attracting jobs, place making, complete streets, and community mobilization – in that order. “Housing first” is also the mantra of the City’s Center City Development and Operations Department. By focusing on bringing residents back into the center city, the theory is that retail, employers, and further public and private investment in infrastructure will follow.
The city is well on its way to reaching its SA2020 goal of adding 7,500 more housing units downtown by 2020. In the past five years alone, 5,000 units have been completed or are underway. In 2011, there were only 3,304 units. The goal is 8,304.
“We only have one ask of you,” DiGiovanni said during his presentation updating Council on Centro’s goals and projects. “We need more time with City Council. We want to come out to your districts. We want to talk about this amazing place (downtown) that has really been underutilized. We want to hear what you are hearing from your constituents about what’s missing from downtown so that we can be good architects and good designers.”
Downtown is not just for people that live and work in the urban core, he said, it’s the city’s “common ground.”
*Top image: The Central Library’s parking garage roof in downtown San Antonio. Photo by Scott Ball.
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There’s not a good system for finding it. And also, having free parking next to $20 parking or misleading signs helps no one.
Parking downtown is a joke
How about the long long lines on the automated attendant station or two that people are not familiar with! People also have to go back and get their license plate etc. That has to be updated. And no the app doesn’t connect every time I try it.
Nope. The shortage of parking is not perceived.
It’s not that there isn’t enough parking, it’s that people don’t like the hassle of parking – they want every event & venue to have its own private parking. Once you do it enough, parking downtown isn’t difficult, nor is it expensive, if you park in the COSA lots, garages or meters.
The real issue is the private parking lots & garages; those are the ones that need a major overhaul.
^^^This! I couldn’t agree with you more! I am downtown every single day and almost every single weekend. There is not a shortage of parking and there’s entirely too many parking lots in my opinion. People want to come downtown and have the same suburban experience of parking: right in front of their destination and free.
Take note of the new parking garage proposed on the corner of Navarro and Market that everyone is hailing: there’s a parking garage immediately next door to it.
There’s more parking garages downtown than office buildings. Look at the skyline
I can find metered parking anywhere, just not where the popular places are, just walk a few blocks and done! Or I take the bus sometimes! Imagine, public transit eliminating parking hassles!:)
There’s an app for that
Could be a great garden
I remember our staff doing a pretty accurate, if unscientific, census of downtown parking prior to the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1993. At that time, it was a perception problem.
Perceived. There is plenty of parking- everyone just wants to roll out of their car and into their destination. What is this walking you speak of?
We have plenty of parking in SAT
Here is an idea for Ivy Taylor…….we don’t need more parking IN downtown, we need more parking away from downtown and a tram system to get people from that area TO downtown. I think this was the plan up until the exact day that she took over as interim mayor and she squashed it? Yawn…….
I agree Stacey. Parking is not the issue. It really is lack of public transportation.
The mayor really needs to consider this option if they are spending millions of dollars on parking buildings, why no invest in the tram system option instead?
Totally perceived. More than enough parking. One of the issues is suburbanite entitlement. Go to The Quarry and see how many trucks and large SUV’s are parked in “compact” car parking. It’s a joke. Now take those same people and ask them to pay $10 to park or walk a block to their destination downtown and there’s an uproar. Our parking is cheap and plentiful compared to many other cities in this country. But we can’t assume that because we can park for free and within a few feet our destination in suburbia that the same rules should apply downtown.
I understand your sentiment. But can we as citizens of San Antonio blame entitlement when we don’t even give ourselves another viable option?
I agree that the SUV’s and large trucks are egregious looking. But have we done anything to improve our transportation options?
Technology will be a huge help but so will a thoughtful plan for downtown that can be implemented consistently. Dozens of great takeaways in this discussion on parking: http://freakonomics.com/2013/03/13/parking-is-hell-a-new-freakonomics-radio-podcast/
About twice a week I park in the garage across from the Hyatt and the first two floors are reserved for valet. Usually the majority of these spaces are open and not being used. I think a service like Parkable.io combines technology with these open spaces so we can maximize the efficiency of the garages we already have. Correct me if I’m wrong Tommy McNish
The map area they are researching needs to be expanded to include Southtown and the Pearl, they are now part of the central business district. There are plenty of spaces downtown, but not where people can easily walk a short distance to there favorite restaurant. expanding the E-line would be a start as well as adding meters on Southtown’s major streets.
We discovered that there are a variety of spaces downtown before we moved to Houston St at Codeup. The challenge is there are too few monthly spaces for rent. Daily is easily available though very expensive. The waiting lists for reserved monthly spaces at downtown garages are very long.
I’ve never had trouble parking downtown, except perhaps along S. Alamo and environs.
Pricing, on the other hand, varies and fluctuated wildly.
Downtown has to offer something that can’t be found closer to home in order to attract suburbanites. Parking hassles are more of an excuse than a reason. That said, we need more bicycle parking that is secure.
Oh my god, I sincerely wish SA would stop worrying so much about parking and having this car-centric mindset. Parking is taking up prime locations that could be residential buildings or offices. But instead…we get terrible parking lots.
If you think there isn’t a parking problem, drive down Lavaca street around 8am and watch downtown workers who park in front of resident’s homes and walk to work. Adding free public trans from Southtown will just move more cars into the residential streets in front of our homes! Take a look at the trash and damage left as well. This IS A PROBLEM and I resent others foisting it on my in the interest of reducing cars on the road or other interests. Residents should have their homes and parking in front of their homes protected!!!
The problem is too many parking lots and not enough garages.
There’s PLENTY of AFFORDABLE parking options. People just like pulling up right in front of the entrance for FREE. But, regarding safe well-lit places to park/lock my bike, that I would like to see.
yes there are definitely parking issues downtown, especially for those with downtown jobs. Park and ride is woefully slow and no one particularly likes the other options which are waiting lists with either really high prices or reasonable prices with long walks in 100 degree heat in your work clothes.
I agree that SA suffers from a car-centric mindset (and I have been guilty of this myself at times). There is plenty of parking for people visiting downtown; it’s just not available right in front of your desired destination. Surface parking lots are very unattractive, and I walk by them every day in the downtown area. There are enough of them, but they hollow out what could be very lively areas. For example, exiting Commerce to downtown, you are immediately greeted by a large surface parking lot, followed by a Denny’s, with its own surface parking lot (which doesn’t allow for good first impressions). This area is devoid of people, unless there is an event of some sort taking place. I think this also influences a real, and perceived disconnect between downtown and St. Paul Square. The parking system (maps, apps, etc could be improved). But, Is there any guarantee that increased parking in the downtown area will positively influence economic activity? Try finding public parking in Boston proper. Now that is difficult.
Funny that you mention Boston, where downtown residents have parking passes to protect their parking rights in front of their homes. Serves my point, exactly.
Why do homeowners five blocks off Newbury street have protection that I can’t get here?
The downtown study must absolutely include Southtown. Unless parking is free downtown, folks will “park” in the King William and Lavaca Historic Districts. I put quotes around the word “park” because many people who park in Southtown are creating safety hazards: parking up to the intersection rather than 20 feet back or blocking driveways. Even folks trying to park correctly may be taking places the residents need; the houses may have been built before cars were created and lack driveways. Similarly, the historic districts have streets 30 feet wide or less and do not accommodate the current system of parking on both sides, two lanes of travels, and 20 feet for first responder access. No downtown study is complete without acknowledging its inner city neighbors.
I guess I just perceive people parking over my driveway in King William.
I pay a monthly fee for the St Marys garage. It is so full during the day that sometimes i cannot get a spot… and I live there. Funny part is that Downtown Centro parks all of their company cars in there taking up a good portion of the spaces. They take the prime spots instead of parking on the roof. Very annoying!
Many large cities (ATL and DC for example) provide incentives for large employers to allow evening event parking in their building’s parking garages downtown. Typically, easy access to venues.
Recently I went to a performance at the Lila Cockerel Theater on the night of a sports event at the Alamodome. It took me 45 minutes from the Trinity University area to reach a parking lot where I could park on the roof. Do I have to know the schedule of all the sports events downtown before I buy a ticket to a performance. That was the double problem of traffic and I suspect slow parking at the dome.
We have a problem with all the private parking lots which should be multi level. But they are in private ownership. Taxing those entities differently might spur multi levels on those lots.
Next, once you get into a city owned parking lot, the graphics are terrible. The signs are small, usually not in a place you might see them quickly and then they are a worn out black on gray concrete. I am told there is a graphic design department for the city, so I am guessing they are either underfunded or under talented. Continuing on design, the parking garage in Brackenridge Park that serves the Witte is actually a civilized experience, thanks to Lake Flato Architects. Can we not get a less stressful experience while parking?
Commendable item. There is free parking every Tuesday night at city lots saving you $10.00 that could be spent towards dessert and a coffee downtown
I was in Burbank, CA with a swimming team. We went to dinner one night and learned that parking in downtown Burbank was always free, if you brought a receipt from either shopping or eating. They wanted to make going downtown as easy as going to the mall and they succeeded.
In San Antonio, what if… What if city employees parked at the Alamodome? What if the city had shuttles for its employees? Think how many parking slots we could open up immediately! We have PLENTY of parking (Dome, AT&T Center). We just don’t don’t use them on a day-to-day basis.
George,
Your idea of City workers parking offsite is a good one, but it will only work if the city mandates it for their employees and enforces it. Today, I have SAISD employees park on the street in front of my house when they have a parking lot 100 yards away. They choose to do so to shorten their walk.
Today, I have convention center employees, who tell me they have a free via bus pass and are told to “park somewhere and ride the bus”. They park in front of my house and walk, or some actually have a bike in the bed of their pickup which the ride from my front door to their worksite.
The city should enforce where their downtown employees park to unburden residents and open up downtown parking for visitors from the suburbs.
Thanks for the great discussion.
I sure wish our elected officials were reading it.
Joe