Drive toward increasing parking ramp use comes with Rochester council concerns

ROCHESTER — A proposed parking rate change is designed to encourage use of Rochester’s parking ramps, but City Council members say more might need to be done.

Rochester City Council member Patrick Keane said many people tend to steer clear of parking ramps because they are often portrayed as dark and dingy places.

Council member Molly Dennis went further, saying people are afraid to use them due to having negative experiences or being told about safety concerns.

“It’s a real issue for many women, especially people with lived experience,” she said during a council study session on Monday.

As Transit and Parking Manager Ia Xiong provided an early glimpse of recommendations in an upcoming parking rate study, she said the city staff is aware of such concerns, but Rochester’s six public ramps are considered safe, with security cameras throughout and routine monitoring.

Additionally, the City Council also recently approved a $545,000 contract to provide three years of nightly security services in the ramps and connected skyways.

Deputy City Administrator Cindy Steinhauser said she understands some people have had bad experiences but pointed to the everyday use by residents and visitors.

“We have thousands of people that park every single day very safely,” she said. “We have a very safe parking system.”

Keane said that message needs to get out.

“If we can do things to change the image, that would be wonderful,” he said.

Kevin White of Walker Consultants, which is working on the rate study, said the age of the city's ramps plays a part in how they are perceived.

With five of the six ramps between 24 and 62 years old, a planned $1.1 million investment during the next four years is proposed to make aesthetic improvements, which include painting and brightening spaces.

“It goes a long way to improve the customer experience and improve safety,” White said.

While the parking rate study won’t be complete for another month or two, Xiong said it points to the potential for adjusting rates to encourage increased use of ramps to free up on-street parking options.

The plan calls for allowing up to three hours of parking at meters in the downtown core with an increased rate of $2 an hour, while the ramp rates would be reduced by $1 for the first four and a half hours.

“There is no financial incentive to stay parked there for three hours,” Traffic Engineer Sam Budzyna said of the proposed change, pointing out a three-hour stay on the street would cost $6, while the same stay in a nearby ramp space would cost $5.

Additionally, he pointed out new smart meters won’t allow users to simply increase the time beyond three hours, since they can tell whether a car has been moved.

“We are trying to optimize the utilization of the different facilities,” he added, pointing to available space in the city’s public ramps.

White said it also helps ensure people who are visiting downtown for short periods can find an on-street parking space, even if it costs more.

“On-street spaces are your most scarce resource as a city, and it’s truly what’s in the most high demand, so we want to price those according to the market,” he said.

While council members voiced support for the move to provide an incentive for using ramps, Rochester Mayor Kim Norton and others pointed out the incentive isn’t there after five hours and after six hours the rates would increase under the proposal.

“I’m a little concerned about that,” Norton said, pointing to downtown workers, who have said too much of their pay is used for parking.

“That’s a universal concern we’ve heard for the past year and a half,” she added.

Xiong said parking staff have discussed creating an employee program, but pointed out it would come at a cost to the city, since it would be time-consuming to administer.

She said the city already offers businesses the option to purchase bus passes at a reduced rate to help their employees get to work.

White said more could also be done to inform downtown workers of parking options that are less costly than the ramps. Options include the city’s surface lots and 10-hour meters, which have rates as low as 50 cents an hour.

Norton acknowledged the need for increased awareness of such options.

“I don't think people understand the different prices and where you might be able to park cheaper,” she said.

Proposals for increasing that awareness, as well as improving understanding of the city’s parking ramp technology, are expected to be part of the rate study, and Xiong said more discussion will likely take place when the study is complete and presented to the council for official adoption.