Some find it confusing, and with the holiday shopping season ready to gear up, many downtown business owners are apprehensive.

Two-hour parking limits were first established on the south side of downtown in 2006. With the implementation of the new parking plan in February all unlimited time spaces and all but 31 of the 30-minute spaces were changed to two-hour time limits.

The stated objectives of the change were to increase the availability of on-street parking for customers and to increase utilization of the off-street parking garages.

Manager of The Herb Lady in the Reed Opera House Connie Walker said that many of her customers are finding the changes in parking "problematic" and that some of her friends and customers have said they won't come downtown again.

South Central Association of Neighbors Chairperson Claudia Howells said, "I've heard many people say they are not going downtown anymore. They go to Lancaster. The new plan was not a move that is helpful to retail."

Some downtown business owners have seen a decrease in their business.

"It's not working for us," Christie Finholt co-owner of the Blue Pepper said. "We have seen a decrease in business over the last few months. Is it the economy or parking or both? The new parking plan doesn't help."

The imposition of two-hour limits on parking downtown could be the first in a series of steps that will lead to paid on-street parking and eventually, the sale of the downtown parking garages.

Clearing the congestion

The City of Salem conducted a study to gauge parking congestion from February through July. It evaluated the success of the new parking plan and involved surveys of downtown business owners, residents, employees and customers. The study also involved before-and-after comparisons of off-street permit sales and on-street citations with a similar study conducted during the same time in 2006.

The published interpretation of the results of the study suggests that on-street parking congestion has decreased and the two-hour limits meet the needs of most customers. However, use of the off-street parking garages actually decreased.
Coordinated parking management is based on the 85 percent standard which stipulates that anytime parking occupancy exceeds 85 percent it signals that traffic and parking are too congested. When this level is reached, particularly at peak hours, attention should be given to demand and parking access.

The study conducted in 2006 surveyed more than 30 blocks located within the boundaries of the Downtown Parking District and showed a peak of 74.2 percent occupancy from noon to 1 p.m. During most hours of the day occupancy fell below 65 percent, all well below the 85 percent industry standard.

In another analysis in the same 2006 study, the survey area was narrowed to six blocks between Center and State streets and High and Commercial streets. This area is where a majority of restaurants are located downtown. Within these six blocks, during the lunch hour, parking occupancy peaked at only 86.9 percent, which gave City Council the justification they needed to take action.

Parking and Transportation Consultant Rick Williams, who assisted with the parking surveys and in developing Salem's parking strategy, said a community can determine how it wants to utilize and interpret the results of parking surveys.
"The customer will perceive that parking is constrained at 85 percent," Williams said.

"Whether you want to see if you hit that 85 percent at any time or if you want to see if it occurs consistently two or three days a week, it all depends on the community."

Results of the study conducted in 2007 indicate a modest decrease in peak occupancy in 2007 after the implementation of two-hour time limits.

"I have not noticed any particular change in parking availability," Claudia Howells said. "But when I go downtown now I have to be more mindful of how long I stay. I haven't seen any improvement. Most people working and then coming downtown to eat will only be having lunch for an hour anyway."

Co-owner of Academy Hair Design Michael Snook didn't see a need for a change in parking policy to begin with.

"I supported leaving things the way they were. We didn't see a problem. If cars are downtown that's good. But the new plan discourages people from coming downtown."

Williams said more parking turnover means more potential customers and that Salem is unique in his experience.

"The cities I've worked with usually say, `Give me as many customers as you can.' We never had discussions about keeping all day free parking. It's a tradition in Salem that needs to be changed."

Some business owners question whether the sampling of returned surveys accurately reflects what everyone wanted downtown. Approximately 500 surveys went out to downtown businesses and 100 were returned, representing a 20 percent return rate. According to the survey results, only about a third of respondents said the two-hour time limits were "working well."

"They didn't listen to the input they wanted from downtown business owners," Connie Walker, who filled out a survey said. "We knew there would be problems."

Councilor Laura Tesler who represents downtown said she supports the two hour parking limits and thinks they have been a success.

What's really driving downtown parking?

If on-street paid parking was implemented in Salem, the sale of some or all of the parking garages downtown to private companies who could charge parking fees would be more feasible.

One of the objectives of the new parking plan is to increase usage of the downtown parking garages. The results of the 2007 parking study show there was actually a 10 percent decrease in parkade use after the imposition of two-hour on-street parking.

Administrative Services Director Tony Mounts said that the closure of Mervyns and renovation on other parkades probably contributed to the decrease. He is confident that with the approach of the holiday shopping season, usage will increase.

For years, maintenance on the parkades has been deferred and funds slated to be used to repair and maintain the parking garages were allocated elsewhere. The City is now spending millions of dollars on parkade renovation. Mounts believes that it is too expensive to maintain parking garages and is not economically sound in a market like Salem.

City Manager Bob Wells said selling the parkades has been discussed, but free on-street parking would discourage would-be investors from buying the parkades.

"As long as parking on the street is free there is no private investor willing to buy one of the parkades who wouldn't be able to charge customers for parking. There is just not enough demand. Down the road, that may be the case."

One of the "mid-term" goals (to be completed by October 2009) outlined in the adopted Parking Management Strategies is to "develop and implement paid on-street parking."

Local attorney and member of the recently formed advisory group "Go Downtown Salem" Doug Vande Griend questions whether paid on-street parking is around the corner.

"I've never gotten an answer to that question," Vande Griend said. "They [Salem City Council] passed those guidelines -- does that mean we're going to get paid parking? There's no answer for that. It's an ongoing discussion but it's on the backburner."

Mounts said that paid parking was part of the approach approved by the city council, but they currently have no plan to put meters on the street.

Bob Wells said paid parking is not being considered now.

"If that area does get congested again we'd have to consider it. It would be a big step and it would have to be decided in conjunction with downtown merchants."

According to consultant Rick Williams, paid on-street parking is inevitable. Williams added that to ensure the highest turnover possible most urban areas are moving to paid parking.

"What's the only parking you can't grow? It's on-street parking. You can always build another garage but most want to park on the street. At some time your on-street system will be unable to accommodate demand."

Vande Griend said he is not opposed to paid parking as long as intelligence is brought to the analysis.

"Have they considered the response from the public?" he said.

Parking ticket puzzlement

Many downtown visitors who have been cited for over-staying the two-hour limit find the new plan confusing.

Many have described leaving a parking space and coming back later to park on the same block. They were surprised to find a parking ticket on their windshield when they were there for less than the two-hour limit.

"The problem is they [enforcement] can't tell if someone has left and come back," Vande Griend said. "They need to solve the problem on the enforcement side."

Vande Griend explained that they identify entire blocks rather than individual spaces and can't determine whether that car is parked in a new space or is over-staying the limit.

For some businesses where customers are sometimes there for more than two hours this is a problem. If they have to leave to move their car blocks away to avoid being cited it can be highly disruptive.

"We have three meeting rooms and many groups meet for half a day or even a full day," Christie Finholt said. "It interrupts and puts a damper on meetings. We have customers who use the Blue Pepper for meetings with their clients. They're here for most of the day. They've appealed their tickets but it puts a bad taste in their mouths."
Michael Snook said the new time limit is a problem for most of his customers but it is particularly difficult for the elderly.

"We provide services that can take longer than two hours and many customers may not realize it will take that long," Snook said. "Some of our elderly customers don't have a handicapped tag and walking from the parkade is more than they can do."

As an attorney Vande Griend has had clients wrestle with similar constraints.

"If a client comes in for a consultation or deposition it will usually take longer than two hours," Vande Griend said. "We are told they can always go to the parkades if they want to stay longer but the parkades are not evenly distributed. Geographically, there is a certain section of downtown that doesn't have a nearby parkade. Where do they go?"

Vande Griend believes that such problems should have been addressed before implementation of the new parking plan. He summed up the confusion and frustration some have experienced parking downtown.

"It's confusing because it's a complex issue. We need constructive proposals. I'm not for `one size fits all' kinds of solutions. Then you get too much of an `us against them' mindset. We're all in this together or we all lose together."

The evaluation of the 2007 two-hour time-limited parking study is not yet widely available.

According to Administrative Services, it will be posted on the City of Salem Web site soon. To view a copy of the evaluation of the parking study now, click here for the Parking Evaluation (PDF). We also have the results from the 2006 study available here (2006 Parking Study) (PDF)

Online Exclusive: WillametteLive asked a selection of Salem downtown visitors what they thought about the parking situation. See what they had to say: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3