TO: Chair and Members of the City Traffic Commission
THRU: Larry Tay, City Traffic Engineer
FROM: Dave Allenbach, Transportation Analyst
1. Subject
title
Request to implement permit parking on East Madison Avenue from Wayfield Street to the Cul-de-sac; East Orange Grove Avenue from Wayfield Street to Tustin Street; Wayfield Street from Walnut Avenue to Orange Grove Avenue; and the north side of Walnut Avenue from Wayfield Street to Tustin Street.
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2. Summary
This request was made to better provide residents with convenient parking opportunities near their homes. Each of the streets within the study area satisfied minimum parking occupancy requirements, and, through the petition process, the residents of Madison and Orange Grove avenues support the proposal.
3. Recommended Action
recommendation
1. Approve permit parking for both sides of Madison Avenue from Wayfield Street to the cul-de-sac; and both sides of Orange Grove Avenue from Wayfield Street to the westerly property lines of 1744/1743 Orange Grove Avenue.
2. Forward to the City Council for final approval.
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4. Fiscal Impact
The total expenditure for the project is $1,000 and will be funded in Minor Traffic Control Devices (16302) through Traffic Improvement Measure M2 (263).
5. Strategic Plan Goals
Goal 1: Provide for a safe community
b. Provide and maintain infrastructure necessary to ensure the safety of the public.
6. Discussion and Background
Background
A resident of Madison Avenue submitted a request to initiate the process for neighborhood permit parking on Madison Avenue west of Wayfield Street on October 19, 2020. The initiating resident lives in the neighborhood that includes East Madison Avenue, Wayfield Street Orange Grove Avenue and the North side of Walnut Avenue. Upon receipt of the application fee, Traffic Division staff initiated the parking occupancy study to determine which streets would be eligible under the City’s Neighborhood Permit Parking Program (NPPP) guidelines.
It should be noted that while the initial request was for Madison Avenue only, city staff adjusted the boundaries of the study area in order to minimize the likelihood that implementing permit parking would adversely affect surrounding streets. In this case, because Wayfield Street, Orange Grove Avenue and the north side of Walnut Avenue could potentially be impacted by a parking permit program on Madison Avenue, staff felt that the residents of these surrounding streets should also be included in the petition process if the applicable parking thresholds were met.
Existing Conditions
Staff mapped and counted the number of legal parking spaces for each of the four streets in the study area. Because the demand for on-street parking was highest in the evenings, staff conducted the parking observations during those hours. Beginning at 5:30 P.M., and progressively later each night, staff made ten observations in the subject neighborhood, including one Sunday observation. Per the City’s adopted NPPP, a street parking occupancy rate of 75% in required to qualify for permit parking. The level of parking occupancy observed by staff for all the streets in the study area is 75.8%.
Because parking occupancy exceeded the minimum 75% threshold, a petition was circulated to determine the level of neighborhood support. A petition letter and a list of permit parking advantages and disadvantages were provided by the Traffic Division to each of the resident property owners and absentee property owners in the study area. Traffic Division staff mailed petition letters to the unsigned property owners on three separate occasions to give everyone the opportunity vote in favor or opposed to parking permits. The table below shows the street-by-street results of the neighborhood polling as of September 30, 2021.
Affected Streets |
Households In Favor |
Households Opposed |
Unreturned |
Madison Ave. |
7 |
77.8% |
2 |
22.2% |
0 |
0% |
OrangeGrove Ave |
7 |
77.8% |
0 |
0% |
2 |
22.2% |
Wayfield St |
5 |
35.7% |
5 |
35.7% |
4 |
28.6% |
Walnut Ave. |
2 |
40% |
0 |
0% |
3 |
60% |
For non-returned petitions, Traffic Division staff made three attempts to notify the property owners of the active permit parking petition process and request the return of a filled out petition to the City, which did yield additional participation.
The final results of the petition indicate that both Madison and Orange Grove Avenues have 77.8% of property owners in favor of the permit parking program, which exceeds the minimum 75% required under the program implementation policy. Wayfield Street and Walnut Avenue had 35.7% and 40% in favor, respectively. Most of Wayfield Street is already posted for “No Parking 11:00 P.M. to 7:00 A.M. and this may be satisfactory for those residents on Wayfield Street. If approved for implementation, the Orange Police Department will issue the permits for eligible households on Madison and Orange Grove Avenues. Participation in the permit program is voluntary; however, after implementation any vehicle parked on the street without a permit can be cited.
Analysis
Staff has documented a consistently high demand for on-street parking in the subject area that becomes progressively greater through the evening hours. The level of parking demand exceeds the minimum requirements under the policies of the NPPP. While the subject neighborhood meets the parking occupancy requirements, only Madison and Orange Grove Avenues have demonstrated the necessary support needed to implement permit parking.
Given the existing parking demand on Wayfield Street and Walnut Avenue, it is doubtful that the parking situation would get noticeably worse for residents of those streets if they are voluntarily excluded from the parking permit program. However, the following should be kept in mind:
1. Should the residents of Wayfield Street and Walnut Avenue wish to be included in the permit program in the future, they will be required to pay the application fees and meet any program requirements that are in place at the time the request is submitted.
2. Any vehicle parked in a designated parking-by-permit area without a permit is subject to citation; furthermore, parking permits do not supersede the overnight parking restriction on Wayfield Street or the street sweeping restrictions in the neighborhood.
Recommendation
Based on the analysis, staff recommends that the Traffic Commission approve the implementation of a Neighborhood Parking Permit Program for the following street segments, and forward to the City Council for final approval:
• Both sides of Madison Avenue from Wayfield Street to the cul-de-sac.
• Both sides of Orange Grove Avenue from Wayfield Street to the westerly property lines of 1743/ 1744 E. Orange Drove Avenue.
The proponent and all residents and businesses within potential impact areas of this neighborhood were notified of this item on Traffic Commission Meeting agenda.
7. ATTACHMENTS
• Letter of Request and receipt for Application Fee
• Notification Letter and receipt for remaining application fee
• Area Map
• Parking Occupancy Study