Parking in Larchmont
One of the most enduring complaints in Larchmont is the difficulty of parking in the shopping districts, which has been made worse over the years by the lack of remedial action, the increase in vehicle ownership and the popularity of Larchmont’s train station.
Inaction Is Not a Solution
As a matter of fact, parking has been looked at by professionals and community task-force groups at least 5 times since the mid-60’s. Each time the study recommendations have largely been disregarded and the problem persisted. To quote the 2007 Village Parking Study done by external experts, “thus far no action has been taken … the problem continues to grow”.
The Village Board, and particularly myself and Trustee Carol Herman, were determined to change that narrative. We felt it was necessary to get a fresh look at parking habits and issues in the Village today and thoroughly immerse ourselves in the study of municipal parking and its impact on the community. We approached this project as part of our effort to revitalize the downtown, since availability and ease of parking for shoppers is essential to the health of our local businesses. We also came to understand parking as a Village asset which provides benefits to residents and visitors alike, but which also requires careful management and adequate funding for upkeep and renovation. After putting out an RFP and receiving several qualified submittals, we engaged BFJ Planning to do a comprehensive parking study for the Village’s two commercial districts.
Mr. Georges Jacquemart, a founding principal of BFJ Planning and director of the firm's transportation practice, performed the study and submitted a report of his findings and recommendations. Mr. Jacquemart presented an overview of the report and answered questions at the recent Village Board meeting held on January 13
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Click here
to watch the video and read the report.
The Solution Must Address Multiple Needs
We never expected it would take this long to fully digest the study and come to the point of implementing change. However, the deeper Trustee Herman and I dug into the topic the more we appreciated the complexity of the situation. Because in addition to considering the needs of shoppers, we also must account for parking usage by business owners and their employees, commuters, apartment residents, and some large employers such as Chatsworth Elementary School and the Post Office. The needs of each type of user often overlap, sometimes clash, and are of primary importance to each individual.
Engaging All the Constituents
As part of the study we’ve gathered representative feedback from all interested parties:
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we’ve sent out surveys to apartment residents holding general permits and employees of Chatsworth Elementary School
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we've met with the Larchmont Post Office Postmaster
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we’ve done sidewalk surveys in the business districts
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we’ve run focus group interviews with business owners and the Chamber of Commerce
In addition to the data collection and meetings done as part of the study, over this past year we have been:
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meeting with the Village’s Traffic Commission and Police Department
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engaging with parking equipment vendors
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holding discussions with and receiving data from employees of neighboring municipalities about the ins-and-outs of their parking systems
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continuing to speak with business owners at meetings of the Larchmont Chamber of Commerce
We Have Been Making Changes Incrementally to Minimize Impact
In 2019, we made the following changes:
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we created two General Parking Permit Districts – Palmer and Boston Post
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at the train station lots:
> we merged Lot 2 into Lot 1 by removing the gray meters and having one consistent permit for all spaces
> installed m
ore clearly-worded changes to the signage in Lots 1, former Lot 2 and Lot 3. New signage is more clearly worded and is posted in additional locations near entrances to lots
> changed the hour at which free parking starts in Lots 1 and 3, to encourage greater off-hour use of these lots by residents and business employees
> we made a limited number of newly-created business permits for Lot 3 available
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we restricted Lot 8 to business permits only
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we instituted a 25% senior-citizen discount for all resident permits
This spring, we will roll out online permit sales, and will introduce a Mobile Pay App for parking lots with existing Pay Stations.
The next steps are to implement most of the remaining study recommendations, which would include:
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improved signage
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designating school zone parking
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increasing street parking
opportunities
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creating additional off-street parking
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expanding the Village’s existing paid parking to most streets in the commercial zones and the municipal lots
In addition to the current parking study report, studies done in 2007, 2009 and 2012 all recommended paid parking as a way to increase parking space turnover and handle the enforcement of time-limited parking. We are executing the recommended solutions after extensive consideration of the impact and in a deliberate manner.
Much Planning Work Has Already Been Done - Here Are a Few Guiding Principles for Next Steps
Being mindful of the look of the Village, we have decided not to use stand-alone meters. Instead, paid parking will be handled by using Multi-Space Pay Stations and a Parking App. To the extent possible, we plan to minimize the number of Pay Stations, using the same Mobile Pay App already introduced to fill in gaps and make the process as efficient and user-friendly as possible.
While we approached this project as part of our effort to revitalize the downtown through more effective management of the Village’s parking assets, we also believe that it will have the benefit of providing a significant non-property tax revenue stream. Our plan is to dedicate a percentage of this additional annual revenue to be reinvested in the downtown through a business district improvement capital fund account. This fund would be used for projects such as parking lot redesign and maintenance and streetscape enhancements, among other things. Our most conservative estimate still indicated that in the first year this would yield funds for infrastructure even after all costs are considered.
But There Is Still More Work to Do
We need to develop solid revenue and expense projections and an analysis of debt service. These items are driven by infrastructure (e.g., Pay Stations, signage) and operational (e.g., increased enforcement resources) costs which we are now in a better position to understand and estimate. Consequently, at our March 18 Board meeting, our intention is to pick up where we left off on January 13th. Administrator Datino will present the parking zones and how paid parking will look and Treasurer Gutwein will present a first take balance sheet for Larchmont’s expanded parking franchise.
Our Next Public Discussion
Even though these changes can be made by Board resolution without the need for a formal public hearing, we will invite public comment on this project at the Board’s April 6, 2020 meeting. In the meantime, all stakeholders are welcome to share their thoughts on the project via email. We have learned much in our conversations with the community throughout this project and we look forward to hearing additional public comment between now and April 6
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