Submitted By
Jill Velan, Parking and Mobility Services Director
Agenda Item Title
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Pilot Project of a New Consolidated On-Street Parking Restriction Sign Design
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Overview
Overview
At the January 23, 2017 Village Board Study Session, the Board approved a monthly schedule of topics. March’s topic is a presentation of a consolidated on-street parking restriction sign design.
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Anticipated Future Actions/Commitments
Recommendation
Staff is recommending a pilot project for a new consolidated on-street parking restriction sign design. Based upon the discussion and consensus of the Village Board determined as a part of this Study Session, staff will develop the necessary actions for the Board to authorize a pilot project and the purchase of signage at a future Regularly Scheduled meeting of the Village Board.
The evaluation of the proposed pilot project could then be considered by the Village Board as a part of the hoalistic review of Parking which is being conducted via monthly study sessions planned thru September of 2017 to address individual parking policies prior to final approval by the Board of comprehensive ordinance amendments.
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Report
As part of an effort to consolidate parking signage in Oak Park and improve understanding of parking restrictions staff has been researching ideas from around the country. Specifically, there are 10,000+ parking restriction signs posted throughout the Village. As part of the research a new sign design was discovered in New York City. This design is currently being piloted in ten cities throughout Australia, Canada and United States.
Based on comments received from Oak Park residents and businesses, staff believes starting a pilot project with this new sign design may prove successful. One idea that seems to be receiving a positive reaction, is a design by a woman named Nikki Sylianteng who is a former resident of Los Angeles and a current resident of Brooklyn. Sylianteng’s came up with an idea to change the traditional text-based design of parking regulation signage in a visual explanation that would answer two main questions: “Can I park here? And for how long?”.
This sign design consists of a parking schedule that shows all 24 hours for every day of the week. The times you can park are marked in green and the times you can not park are marked in red.
Currently there are several different iterations of the sign design being piloted in Columbus (OH), Fargo (ND), Los Angeles (CA), New Haven (CT), Washington (DC), Brisbane, Sydney, Montreal, and Vancouver.
Staff has attached two sample signs using existing restrictions from two residential streets in Oak Park.
It is important to note that in addition to a review of design of parking restriction signage, future Stuiy Sessions will review regulations in order to consolidation/change restrictions in some areas of the Village to simply parking.
The Transporation Commission reviewed the consolidated sign design at their February 27, 2017 meeting and concurred with Staff’s recommendation. In addition the Commission recommended that areas to consider for running a pilot would be a couple streets within the Y2, Y3 or Y4 overnight parking zone area, an area with citation rates, or somewhere near mass transit such as South Blvd.
At the February 27, 2017 Special Board meeting, Dixon Resources Unlimited (Dixon) was hired by the Village to review the Village’s parking services, permit, vehicle stickers and citation systems to determine requirements for a Unified system that would improve the customer experience. Over the last few months Dixon has be reviewing processes that are shared between the Adjudication, Finance, Information Technology, Police, Public Works and Parking & Mobility Services Departments in an effort to develop a request for proposal that encompasses best practices for a new system.
As part of this process, Dixon presented to the Village Board different parking technologies and parking industry best practices that are currently being used by municipalities throughout the country.
At the January 23, 2017 Special Board meeting, The The Transportation Commission recommended parking restriction changes that would increase resident on-street overnight permit parking by adding 75 spaces. In addition, the recommendations include standardized on-street overnight permit parking hours in the Pleasant Business District and Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School area also referred to as the Y2, Y3, and Y4 Zone to 11:00 p.m. - 6:00 a.m. consistent with the “shared parking” concept used in other mixed use areas which has successfully allowed improved parking for business customers and residents during the evening hours.
The Village Board Goals for 2016-2017 include revisiting the overall parking systems within Oak Park in a holistic manner and with consideration for neighborhoods and business districts in order to understand the impact on residents, visitors and employees in the community. As a part of this meeting, staff will review the recommended goals for this review and a proposed schedule.
Staff recommends that the following Guiding Principles be considered as each public parking system is reviewed and changes proposed:
• Sustainability
• Public Safety
• Customer Service
Additionally, staff recommends the following Goals be considered as each public parking system is reviewed and changes proposed:
• Parking Ordinances must be simple and user friendly (e.g. language is clear and concise)
• Parking Signage of all types must be standardized and more streamlined so that residents, visitors and employees in Oak Park are able to understand regulatory language that may be required and directional information is clear and concise.
• Parking Technology must support efficient parking administration and operation while also being customer service focused.
In order to facilitate a comprehensive review of the public parking system, staff recommends a schedule of monthly study sessions be established. In general, each individual session would seek consensus of the Village Board related to the parking policy with final comprehensive ordinance approval scheduled at the conclusion of the study sessions. Similar to the review of the I-290 Reconstruction, the review of recommendations related to individual public parking policies will take multiple meetings and then comprehensive Board direction can be obtained.
Staff recommends the following Monthly Study Session Schedule:
January Pleasant Business District/South and Harlem Redevelopment project/Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School, including Recommendations from the Transportation Commission related to on-street resident parking (this is a time sensitive topic due to pending ground breaking by Lincoln Properties)
February Parking Technology Best Practices
March Parking Signage Recommendations
April On-Street Parking Austin Blvd & Harlem Avenue, including adjacent areas
May On-Street Parking North Avenue and Roosevelt Road, including adjacent areas
June Parking near and adjacent to Public Transit/Residential/Mixed Use Areas - Metra CTA Green Line, and CTA Blue Line
July Parking near and adjacent to Residential/Mixed Use Areas - Madison Street and Washington Blvd
August Parking near and adjacent to Residential or Mixed Use Areas - Chicago Avenue and Division Street
September Comprehensive Recommended Ordinance Amendments
While conducting the above area reviews, all of the diverse parking needs would be considered. For example, parking needs of single/multi-family homes, business districts, service providers, schools, parks, hospitals and public transit.
Beginning with the March study session, online public input will be solicited in advance of the Study Sessions to provide feedback for customers who may not be able to attend a specific meeting.
Alternatives
The Village Board could request that Staff do addition research for other type of sign designs.
The Village Board could ask staff to incorporate other agenda topics and research additional information as part of the study sessions.