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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1974-1718 PEDESTRIAN MALLORDINANCE. NO. f7a AN ORDINANCE adopting a plan for the establishment of a pedestrian mall. WHEREAS, R.C.W. Chapter 35.71 vests authority in the City to establish pedestrian malls and requires, in considering the establish- ment of a pedestrian mall that a plan therefor be formulated and that a public hearing be held on such plan, and WHEREAS, the City has caused a plan to be formulated for the establishment of a pedestrian mall in the downtown area of the City, and WHEREAS, on October 21, 1974, the Yakima City Council did adopt Resolution No. D-3200 fixing November 12, 1974, as the date for a public hearing on such plan, all pursuant to and in accordance with applicable laws, and WHEREAS, pursuant to such Resolution No. D-3200, and after due notice in accordance with applicable laws, the City Council held a public hearing on November12, 1974, to consider such plan; and as a result of such public hearing, the,City Council finds and deter- mines that the public interest, safety and convenience will be best served by the establishment of such a mall that the vehicular traffic will not be unduly inconvenienced thereby, that property abutting on and in the vicinity of the mall will benefit from its establishment, that the plan for establishment of such a mall is consistent with the intent of the General Plan of the City of Yakima as heretofore adopted, and that the such a mall should be established, now, therefore, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF YAKIMA: Section 1. That the plan to acquire, construct and finance off street parking facilities, improvements to pedestrian spaces and general improvements in the central business district, as prepared by N. G. Jacobson & Associates, Inc., in a report dated September, 1974, and now on file with the City, is hereby approved. Section 2. This ordinance shall be in full force and effect 30 days after its passage, approval and publication as provided by law and by the City Charter. PASSED BY THE CIT COUNCIL, signed and approved this glib daY o / .1100%/Wed 974. ATTEST: • Mayor • ••• • • • •• . • • •• • • • • . •••• .•• . • • , • , • . • • • YAKIMA, WASHINGTON • C.B.D. PARKING & GENERAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM SUMMAR • PARKII\G. ANALYSIS.. • PARKING & GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS• • ..s.•••••••••••,, • BUDGET •COST ESTIMATES • • FINANCING •• ••••• !•••••••••••:•••••••••:•••••••:......: •;•••• • ••• • • • PRELIMINARY • ASSESSMENT .RQL ..::•••• • .PARKING ' ..• • • • . ,0 lice of the Mayor CITY OF YAKI A April 25, 1974 Dear Property Owner: CITY HALL, YAKIMA, WASHINGTON 98901 Phone: (509) 248-2620 We are pleased to announce that the proposed Central Business District Improvements Report is now completed and ready for review. Please find enclosed a summary of that report. Two informational meetings are scheduled for presentation of the full report on -- Tuesday, May 7, 1974 - 10:00 a.m. and Wednesday, May 8, 1974 - 7:30 p.m. Both meetings will be held in the Capitol Theatre at 19 South Third Street in Yakima. The purpose of the -meetings is to familiarize you with the proposed project, answer your questions, and receive sugges- tions for changes or improvements to the plans. BERT BROAD Mayor LEE SEMON, JR., CI&irman Downtown Advisory Redevelopment Commission Yakima, Washington CBD Parking & General Improvement Program April, 1974 CITY COUNCIL Bert Broad Mayor Wray Brown Betty Edmundson W. K. "Pete" Moore Charles Rich Don Schussler Bill Whitaker DOWNTOWN ADVISORY REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (DARC) CITY STAFF Lee Semon, Jr. Gus Williams Mike Mercy Bruce Beaudoin Adolph Frank Vern Halversen Thomas Hargis, Jr., AIA Herb Hill Craig McMicken Jay Otto Richard Hill D. Larry Wright PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT N. G. Jacobson & Associates, Inc. ARCHITECTURAL CONSULTANT Doudna.Williams, AIA URBAN DESIGN CONSULTANT Henry Steinhardt, AIA Chairman 1st Vice Chairman 2nd Vice Chairman Cliff Miller Al Pruett Hans Skov Richard Tweten Ed Wissman City Manager Director of Community Development Principal Planner Associate Planner (CBD Project Coordinator) Consulting Engineers Seattle, Washington Architects Yakima, Washington Architect/Urban Designer Mercer Island, Washington N. G. JACOBSON & ASSOCIATES, INC. CONSULTING ENGINEERS 414 Skinner Building is Seattle,Washington 98101 Phone: (Area Code 206) 624-7863 April 24, 1974 City of Yakima City Hall Yakima, Washington 98901 Attn: Mr. Craig McMicken, City Manager Gentlemen: RE: CBD Parking and General Improvement Program We are pleased to submit our report on the CBD Parking and General Improvement Program which proposed on- and off-street parking improve- ments and general improvements for the CBD that in our opinion will help revitalize the downtown. This concludes the work that was authorized in your November 2, 1973, letter and modified in your April 4, 1974, letter. We would like to thank the DARC Committee and the City staff for the considerable amount of time, effort, inputs, and cooperation which every- one gave to make this report possible. We would especially like to thank Mr. Lee Semon, Jr., Chairman, and the other members of the DARC Committee, who attended many meetings in order that we could present our ideas and could receive the benefit of their recommendations as to what they felt was best for the improvement of the CBD. Mr. Craig McMicken, Mr. Jay Otto, and Mr. D. Larry Wright were among the many people on the City staff who gave us a very considerable amount of help and gathered much of the data on which this study was based. Foster and Marshall, Inc., financial consultant for the City of Yakima, was consulted for current bond interest rates. Mr. Richard Thorgrimson and Mr. Forrest Walls of the firm Preston, Thorgrimson, Ellis, Holman & Fletcher, the City of Yakima bond counsel, have reviewed the proposed assessment program. City of Yakima Page 2 April 24, 1974 Our recommendations include the implementation of the following capital improvements: General CBD Improvements Strdet trees, intersection treatments $ 673,750 General Alley Improvements Paving, canopies, lighting Off -Street Parking Improvements Parking Lot 1 - paved, lighted, landscaped Parking Lot 2 - paved, lighted, landscaped Parking Lot 3 - lighted, landscaped Total Improvements for L.I.D. Financing General CBD Improvements Proposed for Municipal Funding Street lights and signalization, plazas, waste receptacles, bus shelters Total Improvements Proposed 646,250 652,000 1,407,825 191,875 $3,571,700 467,500 $4,039,200 Property owners within the proposed CBD Local Improvement District will benefit considerably from the proposed improvements. The general improve- ments will answer many of the needs of the CBD and will enhance its appear - for both customers and employees; today there is insufficient parking to meet present needs. The proposed improvements closely follow and largely implement the CBD plan that was adopted by the Yakima City Council in 1967. Unlimited free customer parking under a centralized parking management is recommended for the enforcement of the parking program and the control of paid monthly parking. City management of CBD on- and off-street parking under this centralized parking program will help relieve many of the present parking and business problems in the downtown. It is recommended that the operating cost of this program be paid for by downtown businesses using an annual levy. City of Yakima Page 3 April 24, 1974 Philip Keightly, who is project manager for this study, and I will be happy to give further assistance to the City of Yakima as needed for explanation and implementation of the proposed program and in the final design of the improvements. We have enjoyed doing the work in developing this program and look forward to seeing its implementation in the near future. Very truly yours, N. G. JACOBSON & ASSOCIATES, N#man G. Jacob President NGJ:sh Enclosures ). TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Description 1 INTRODUCTION 4 Drawing 1, Existing CBD Buildings & Parking Stalls 5 Analysis 7 Proposed Improvements 8 Plate 1, Yakima CBD Proposed Improvements 10 Financing 12 Assessment 16 Plate 2, Assessments in Dollars per Square Foot 17 Operations 19 RECOMMENDATIONS 19 _ Analysis . 21 General CBD Improvements 25 Parking Improvements 26 Financing 27 Operations 29 Implementation 1 .,, ..........;•,e......:;•:......Z., ' ' • 1 I SUMMARY INTRODUCTION The Yakima CBD serves a large market area that is mostly without public transportation. The automobile is, therefore, the dominant means of transportation and is likely to be in the near future. The increased use of the automobile has created traffic congestion in the streets of Yakima and has overloaded available parking in the CBD. The City arterial street plan presently being implemented will solve much of the traffic congestion problem. However, it is not until the planto route traffic on Yakima Avenue around the CBD is implemented that the CBD will be able to change from its present automobile domina- tion to become a pedestrian oriented area. This study recommends a scheme to provide sufficient parking to relieve the parking problem in the CBD. It also recommends other improvements that are needed to create a more attractive and vital downtown and to help reverse the trend of businesses moving out of the CBD. The CBD should have a visual identity and distinctive character of its own. This can be done by having a uniformity of street trees, new lighting, street furniture, and signing throughout the CBD. The trees will also add color and shade to the sidewalks and visually reduce he width of the streets. The physical width of the streets needs to be reduced at intersections for pedestrian safety by designing 2 YAKIMA AVENUE • t. The heavy through traffic on Yakima Avenue bisects the CBD, reduces pedestrian safety, takes away possible on -street parking, and does little to encourage drivers to get out of their cars and become customers of CBD businesses. 3 intersection treatments which will also help make the CBD more pedes- trian oriented. A pedestrian circulation system is needed that incorporates the alley- ways, which at present appear cluttered, dingy, and dirty. These alleys provide an exciting potential for use as bright, colorful, covered pedestrian walkways connecting parking areas to other parts of the CBD. Plazas on 2nd Street on both sides of Yakima Avenue are needed to give a focal point in the center of the CBD. These should be places that people enjoy being in, where they can meet friends, watch children play, sit on benches in the shade of trees, and be a place for such events as outdoor art shows. These plazas will highlight the intended pedestrian nature of the CBD. New off-street parking lots should have plenty of trees to give shade to people and cars and also to reduce the visual expanse of the parking areas. Parking lots can be made both attractive and functional. Drivers who enter the CBD should be quickly directed to areas with sufficient parking near where they want to go. People can only become a client or customer of CBD businesses once they are out of their cars. Once on foot, peoplemeed to be able to walk safely, quickly, and comfortably to their destination. This can be achieved by having pleasing surroundings with shade in summer, shelter in winter, and adequate light at nighttime. People must also feel free to stroll J. II 1.1 1.3 - • r.• r". . 11... &JACKS AVE. 10 pt11.46,01.1 I ;!•-: . ..........S. NAH AVE, 40P!,!!'; • Sti fj 41 li:. ° • 'I r ... L -....j. r Ji,...i...1.7...7-171-Lt..1.7,"4191...........„, 1. 1 r: —1....t ' - Fri 1. rj-•-•—•*""' i j ' * 1 ;.., •j-' '1- -":""" ,..., 4th' • 754,-7-'•"""- ........ - • r r1,4 0114,411.1 ...414.11,41 atom mutIJAJ +ape. ...... • 70 • .1 tjb TY • , a. k4046,.! LjJL T.' • s•,, •sfir • - • - ••• • , r j °ih 14 P •• ; !LI 91! ;•!;!, j,„. 11; . ; ! • • • j•ia•M• •;;1- -17•116•M ;•-1-•'• ................. • GMr ••• h MP 111-1117—'=" Lr . 1 rjL,!!! .-7••• •!!!!./tm -om T. S. 1st ST ° •111•1•.10 ahem... Jw 1 --- . ir • :7t -.111T. Vtal dtrw: ...... 1-JyyJyyyyyyy, N. G. Jacobson & Associates, Inc. ‘ting — ere LEGEND NUMBER OF PARKING SPACES P PRIVATE PARKING METERED PARKING Y2 HOUR METER ALL OTHERS 2-4 HR ) EXISTING C.B.D. BUILDINGSIiisic STALLS 1 5 around and to chat with friends when they are not in a hurry. The creation of a stimulating visual and physical environment in the CBD can be achieved by careful architectural and landscaping design. These key elements are needed to achieve a more vital CBD and to encourage people to return to conduct their business, shop or visit restaurants and places of entertainment. This report recommends capital improvements that incorporate these key elements and a method of financing to carry them out. It is intended to be the foundation of a practical action plan that is needed to implement the proposed improvements, which closely follows and in fact implements the CBD plan adopted by the Yakima City Council in 1967. Throughout the development of the proposed improvements, the consultant met with DARC Committee members and City staff to discuss and modify proposed improvements to best meet the needs of the public, businesses, property owners, and the City. General consensus was reached on what should be proposed. The report and its conclusions have, therefore, in general been agreed upon by DARC Committee members and the City staff. Analysis The parking needs of the CBD derived have been based on a comprehensive analysis of downtown parking with each block analyzed separately. The surplus or deficiency of parking in the downtown was first calculated and then divided up so that this surplus or deficiency for customer and employee parking could be analyzed separately in each block. Parking that is presently available is shown on Drawing 1. 6 An overall deficiency of 1,171 parking stalls was found for the CBD. This indicated that there was a considerable parking problem. The blocks on either side of Yakima Avenue between 1st and 4th Streets have the greatest deficiencies of parking in the downtown with the greatest single deficiency. in Block 50. Some surplus parking was found in the north, east, and south corners of the CBD. The extent of the problem was best identified by looking at the cus- tomer and employee parking requirements. It was found that 149 employee parking stalls were required in the whole CBD area with the greatest need for employee parking near the center of the CBD itself. There was a customer deficiency of 583 stalls in the CBD. This deficiency was almost entirely caused by the blocks on Yakima Avenue between 1st and 4th Streets. There is, therefore, a need for a total of 732 stalls in the center of the CBD. After careful analysis of areas in the downtown that may be available for off-street parking improvements, it was concluded that improve- ments should best be made at Parking Lots 1 and 2 as shown on Plate 1. These two lots provide an additional 398 off-street parking stalls in the area. This, together with 87 on -street parking stalls provided by center street or diagonal parking, give a total of 485 additional parking stalls in the CBD. Since Parking Lots 1 and 2 require the demolition of buildings, the parking demand decreases by the amount of parking demand that those buildings generated. This parking demand, based upon full utilization of these buildings, amounts to 237 parking stalls; this gives a net 7 • increase of 237 stalls in the CBD. The total number of additional parking stalls made available by proposed parking improvements is 722 stalls. Because only 732 stalls are required to correct existing parking deficiencies, it appears that the proposed parking will be almost sufficient to meet present parking needs. This additional parking was divided such that there will be 148 employee stalls and 574 customer stalls added to the downtown. This means that the improved parking lots with the present distribution will have about 25% of their spaces taken up by monthly employee parking, which provides for expansion of short-term customer parking in the future. Proposed Improvements Plate 1 shows the location and kinds of improvements proposed. The estimated $673,750 in general CBD improvements to be financed by L.I.D. improvements bonds include the planting of street trees in all sidewalks in the CBD, the placement of irrigation to all street trees, major street furniture, signing, and intersection treatments that use pedestrian -textured paving at intersections and crosswalks and such techniques as changing the location of corner curbs or placing pedestrian islands to reduce the width of the streets that the pedes- trian has to cross so as to improve pedestrian safety. The $467,500 in general CBD improvements for municipal funding include new street lights and traffic signalization, the 2nd Street plazas on 8 N. G. Jacobson & Associates, Inc. Consulting Engineers ... .0. •**. .. *It XI • 6 .4 .., YAKIMA MALL --- • AI ft* *. 111.F. .41.114, • it 01[110441$*!***Itti4 It S***********0 LEGEND • INTERSECTIONS PLAZA X**4.1 WWW411 PARKING LIGHTING TREES 89 BLOCK N9 muffin@ ALLEYS E. YAKIMA AVE. 200 scale 0 HI 3rd STREET (...\ SITE FOR FUTURE CONVENTION ) CENTER ABOVE PARKING 400 feet YAKIMA C. B. D. PARKING IMPROVEMENTS YAKIMA C.B.D. PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS PLATE 9 both sides of Yakima Avenue, waste receptacles that are now required by recent legislation, and bus shelters on Yakima Avenue. The design of the lighting needs to be used to help establish the unique character of the downtown. The undergrounding of street light wiring should be done at the same time as the placement of irrigation lines for street trees to save cost. The plazas include pedestrian -textured paving, trees, planters, irrigation, and various items of street furniture and are intended to be designed so that they become a focal point of the downtown. The $646,250 cost of general alley improvements in Blocks 30, 31, 50, 51, and 71 are for financing by L.I.D. improvement bonds by assessing the improvement costs to all property owners in these blocks. The improvements include pedestrian -textured paving, lighting, canopies for shadelin summer and protection from rain and snow in winter, general improvements and some improvements to the appearance of over- head utilities. These improvements will make the alleys colorful, bright, cheerful and safe places to walk in and could encourage business to put in alley entrances to their stores or even establish businesses that only face the alleys. The general alley improvements include $155,000 to improve alley utilities; the estimated additional cost to underground all alley utilities is $670,000. Alley utility undergrounding is recommended if property owners abutting alley improvements wish to pay for these improvements. These costs have not been included in proposed assess- ments in the CBD. 10 The intent of proposed off-street parking improvements is to provide convenient parking in pleasing surroundings with trees to provide shade for people and cars. The improvements proposed are intended to minimize costs and maximize the benefits from them. Parking Lots 1 and 2 contain 161 and 398 parking stalls respectively. Their locations are shown on Plate 1. They both require the demolition of existing buildings, the filling of basements, asphalt paving, drainage, trees and landscaping with irrigation, safe levels of lighting, and such miscellaneous items as signing. Parking Lot 3 contains 52 parking stalls and only requires minor portions of these improvements as it is an existing paved parking lot; the improvements primarily are for landscaping, trees, and associated installation costs. The estimated cost of Parking, Lot 1 is $652,000 which includes $195,250 in construction costs and $456,750 for property acqUisitions. The estimated cost of Parking Lot 2 is $1,407,825 which includes $474,375 in construction costs and $933,450 for property acquisitions. The estimated cost of Parking Lot 3 is $191,875 which includes $34,375 in construction costs and $157,500 for property acquisition. The cost per stall of lots 1, 2, and 3 is $4,050, $3,537, and $3,690 respectively. Financing The most suitable method of financing the proposed improvements was found to be through the use of Washington State Pedestrian Mall legis- lation under Chapter 35.71. This law has already been used to put in 11 the center -street diagonal parking on 2nd Street; the two-hour free parking and this method of parking appears to have been well received by customers and businesses. This law allows the change of the CBD from a vehicle -dominated area to the pedestrian use of the streets. It also allows the formation of L.I.D.'s under Title 35 legislation to finance improvements. Municipal funding for improvements can include general obligation bonds, general fund, and other available monies. The $467,500 in general CBD improvements for street lights and traffic signalization, plazas, waste receptacles, and bus shelters are for municipal funding.. The $3,571,700 in improvements for general CBD improvements, general alley improvements,'and off-street parking improvements need funding by L.I.D. improvement bonds, which are likely to be sold at about a 7-1/4 percent interest rate for a 20 -year period. 12 Assessment The assessment method used is one that spreads the various proposed improvement costs to property owners in the assessment district in accordance with the benefits they receive from these various improve- ments. The best method to do this was found to be to develop five separate assessment rolls for each kind of improvement and distribute the costs of an improvement only to those properties which benefited by that particular improvement. All assessment costs were distributed on these five assessment rolls in accordance with the property area of the assessable parcels of land within the assessment district. Four of these separate assessment rolls were then combined into a Summary Assessment Roll for the total CBD improvements proposed. Assessment Roll 1 is for general CBD improvements in the amount of $673,750. These improvements include street trees with irrigation and intersection improvements• and are proposed for the whole of the CBD. Since all properties benefit equally from the improvements, the costs are distributed equally to all assessable properties based on their square footage of property area. These assessments are $0.41 per square foot. Assessment Roll 2A is for general alley improvements in the amount of $646,250. These improvements are proposed for Blocks 30,31, 50, 51, and 71. The costs of these improvements are distributed equally to all assessable properties with these blocks. The assessments are $1.76 per square foot of property area. 13 Assessment Roll 2B is for the undergrounding of alley utilities in the same blocks as Assessment Roll 2A. The $670,000 cost for these improvements and the $1.83 per square foot assessment cost is not included in the summary assessment roll as these improvements are not recommended for construction at this time. Assessment Roll 3 is for the 2nd Street parking improvements in the amount of $2,059,825. In order that only those properties that receive benefit from the improvements are assessed, the assessment district for this assessment roll only included the blocks on both sides of 2nd Street and properties generally facing the improvements The total amount of benefit a property within the assessment district for Assessment Roll 3 receives from the proposed 2nd Street parking improvements is proportional to the amount of benefit received from each of three significant kinds of benefit. Property assessments are based on these three benefits, which are general benefits, distance benefits, and parking benefits. The costs associated with these three benefits are distributed separately to the assessable properties in this assessment district as follows: GENERAL BENEFITS are assessed at one-third of the total 2nd Street parking improvement costs which is $686,609. Since the general benefits are received equally by all properties, all assessable properties within this assessment district are equally assessed general benefit costs. 14 DISTANCE BENEFITS are assessed one-third of the total 2nd Street parking improvement costs which is $686,608. The amount of benefit received by a property bears a direct relation to the distance the property is from the proposed parking improvements. The distance benefits received by properties is obtained by using 100, 67, and 33 percent distant benefit zones. The square footage obtained by multiplying the property area square footage by the distance percentage zone of the property is used to distribute the distance benefits cost to all properties within this assessment district. PARKING BENEFITS were assessed at one-third of the total 2nd Street parking improvement costs which is $686,608. These are benefits received by a parcel of property from the parking added by the improve- ments. If a parcel has no off-street parking, it will receive a large amount of benefit from the parking improvements and vice versa. The amount of parking benefit is obtained by using 100, 67, and 33 percent parking benefit zones. Credit is given for existing off- street parking by deducting 300 square feet for each off-street parking stall provided from the total property square footage; the remaining square footage was multiplied by the parking benefit percent zone to give the actual square footage assessed for parking improvements. Parking benefit.costs were distributed to all properties in proportion to these resulting square footages. Assessment Roll 4 is for the 4th Street parking improvements in the amount of $191,875. Only those properties that receive benefit from 15 these improvements are assessed. The assessment district for Assess- ment Roll 4 is, therefore, limited to the blocks on both sides of South 4th Street from East Yakima Avenue to East Walnut Street. The method of assessment is identical to Assessment Roll 3. Assessment Roll 5 is for the purchase of the Yakima Mall Parking Garage using a purchase price of $2.9 million. The costs are distri- buted to properties in Blocks 70 and 90 as these are the only properties that would receive significant benefit from the purchase of the Garage. The method of assessment used is the same as for Assessment Roll 3. The $9.45 per square foot assessment cost for People's Store and $11.45 per square foot assessment cost for other Mall properties was felt to be unreasonable for the benefits obtained. Therefore, the Yakima Mall Garage purchase is not included in the Summary Assessment Roll and is not_recommended forpurchase• at this time unless the property owners should wish to make the purchase. The Summary Assessment Roll is the sum of the total assessment costs for each piece of property or parcels of property on Assessment Rolls 1, 2A, 3, and 4. The total estimated cost of all improvements that are distributed to properties within the CBD is $3,571,700. See Plate 2 for the approximate total assessment in dollars per square foot of property area in the CBD. 16 N. G. Jacobson & Associates; in. Consulting Engineers .4erairAr,iir ?f•e' W....... 0.0.4... .440.9*0 ....0.0. 00000.0. 000000.0 *0000000* *04.0.000 44440* ***4..,* LEENID r 40**0 4**** 0.41 $/SQ. FT. 0,4.2 — 1.49 VSQ. 1.50 — 2.99 55/5Q. FT. 3.00 —4.49 V561. FT. 4.50 — 6.18 5/sq. FT, PROPOSED PAR.KINCI IMPROVEMENTS mim ASSESSMENT DISTRICT BOUNDARY 200 scale 0 400 feet NOTE THESE ASSESSMENT COST ZONES ARE ONLY APPROX.. SEE ASSESSMENT ROLL FOR ACTUAL ASSESSMENTS IN /SQ. FT.. THE SQ. P.7, IJSE IS THE ASSESSAELE PROPERTY AREA WITHIN THE ASSES5MENT YAKIMA C. B. D. PARKING IMPROVEMENTS ASSESSMENTS IN DOLLARS PER SQUARE FOOT PLATE 1 2 17 Operations All -day free parking for clients and customers of downtown businesses, two-hour free parking for employees, and carefully regulated monthly parking in off-street parking lots is proposed for the downtown using centralized parking management. Parking checkers would record the license plate number, location, time, and date of all cars that park for more than two hours in the downtown; this data would be processed and fed into the City's computer, which would summarize the number of times a particular license plate number was noted over a predetermined period of time. If for example, a car with a particular license plate was found to park for more than two hours every day in the downtown, it is most unlikely this person would be a shopper. On the second violation, a fine of up to about $25 could be cited against the owner of this particular vehicle. The rates for monthly parking in downtown lots could vary from about $5 to $15 per month depending upon location, with higher rates in the most central locations. The number of monthly parkers allowed in these lots could also be varied to adapt to changes in their use by customers and employees and also to allow more customer parking at Christmas. The City should manage as many private off-street parking lots as possible for the property owners under some lease agreement to improve control over downtown parking. A new City Council appointed "pedestrian mall organization" or the existing DARC Committee should be directed to establish and recommend the basic procedures and guidelines for the centralized parking management. A City staff person should be appointed to manage downtown parking and 18 to supervise a private parking operator who employs the parking checkers. It is estimated that the monthly operating costs of .the centralized parking management would be about $13,800. This does not include the lease of off-street parking lots. However, these lease costs would be largely offset by the revenues from monthly parking fees. A levy is being assessed at present for downtown parking enforcement based on the number of employees that are employed by downtown businesses. Using this same method, the levy for the operating costs of the centralized parking management would be $45.25 per year per employee. 19 RECOMMENDATIONS Analysis 1. Every effort should be made to more fully utilize the Yakima Mall Parking Garage. Actively promote monthly parking. Devise programs to promote the use of the garage. Encourage the Mall to offer free parking to its customers in conformity with the proposed CBD plan for municipal parking. 2. Parking is badly needed on either side of Yakima Avenue between 1st and 4th Streets, especially in Block 50, to relieve the large deficiency of parking'spaces in this area. 3. It is necessary to preserve the parking behind the Capitol Theater and beside the Pacific National Bank on 1st Street as these two lots are both in blocks that already have a considerable deficiency in parking spaces. If in the future these two parking lots are being considered for uses other than parking, they should be purchased so as to preserve them for. parking. 4. The City of Yakima should consider the removal of approximately 29 meters near the intersection of East Lincoln Avenue and North Front Street, and approximately 27 meters outside the core area on South Naches Avenue and East Walnut Street near their inter- section. These meters are under-utilized. The parking spaces could be made available for all day parking without harming nearby businesses. 5. Consider restricting the all -day parking of approximately 27 on - street parking stalls near the YWCA because of the considerable deficiency in the area. This parking restriction could be achieved by including the area in the proposed centralized management of CBD parking. 20 TRAFFIC/PEDESTRIAN CONFLICTS Yakima Avenue and 3rd Street have heavy traffic and, like all CBD streets, are wide. This reduces pedestrian safety and discourages people from crossing streets and from walking around the CBD to shop or conduct business. Intersection treatments are needed to increase pedestrian safety and to encourage people to leave their cars and walk around the CBD in comfort and in pleasing surroundings. 21 General CBD Improvements 1. The CBD should be designated as the area bounded by Naches Avenue, East Walnut Street, 1st Street,and East "A" Street. 2. Develop an attractive environment with a unifying theme that gives the CBD a visual identity and a distinctive character of its own. When people drive near the CBD they should be able to say, "Oh, there is our downtown." Do this by establishing uniform design standards for all CBD street trees, street furniture, lighting, and signing. Develop a signing ordinance for the CBD. 3. Complete the city arterial plan as soon as possible so that CBD traffic on Yakima Avenue can be considerably reduced by encouraging traffic to circulate around the CBD. 4. Design systems for CBD traffic circulation and for signing and routing that enables drivers entering the CBD to be quickly directed to parking areas within it. 5. Design a pedestrian circulation system that includes the use of alleys to allow people to move freely, safely, and conveniently from parking areas to their destination in the CBD. Develop special intersection treatments to make pedestrian crossings safer. 6. Study vehicle and pedestrian circulation elements and movements data to propose integrated traffic and pedestrian circulation systems that minimize points of automobile traffic and pedestrian conflict. Change the CBD from being vehicle dominated to a pedestrian oriented area. 7. Propose that the air rights over Parking Lot 2 be made available for a future convention center providing grade level parking is still available underneath the building. WHAT CAN BE DONE TO THE CBD Naches Avenue is a splendid example of how trees add great beauty to a street. Alleys presently appear cluttered, dingey and dirty and do not invite pedestrians to use them. The alleys offer the CBD an exciting potential for use as bright, colorful pedestrian covered walkways, joining parking areas to businesses, adjacent alleys, and to distant blocks. 8. Finance the installation of street trees and intersection improvements with $673,750 in L.I.D. improvement bonds. All assessable properties within the CBD should be equally assessed $0.41 per square foot of property area for the cost of these improvements since all properties receive equal benefit from them. 9. Municipally fund the $467,500 in proposed improvements for new street lights and traffic signalization, plazas, waste receptacles and bus shelters on Yakima Avenue. Underground street light wires by using the same trench as that used to install the irrigation for street trees. 10. Finance the $646,250 in proposed general alley improvements for pedestrian-textured paving, canopies, lighting, general and utility improvements using L.I.D. improvement bonds. The cost of alley improvements should be equally assessed to all properties that abut on these improvements. 11. Develop an ordinance to restrict deliveries in improved alleys in the CBD to early morning and evening hours so that pedestrians may move freely and safely in them during the day. 12. The undergrounding of overhead utilities is only recommended for inclusion in proposed improvements if property owners abutting the alley improvements should agree to spend the $670,000 that is over and above the cost of general alley improvements to do this work. 13. Bus ridership and an enlarged public transportation system should be encouraged so that fewer people will drive downtown and more valuable downtown parking spaces will be available. The use of such programs as allowing stores to sell discounted books of bus tickets to encourage ridership is recommended. 24 YAKIMA MALL GARAGE The Yakima Mall Parking Garage has about 1200 off-street parking stalls. The parking analysis showed that this facility was about the correct size to accommodate the parking needs of businesses in the Mall block and was, there- fore, of no great benefit to surrounding properties. 25 Parking Improvements 1. Design and install the 161 -stall Parking Lot 1. See Plate 2 for the location of proposed parking lots. The total estimated cost of Parking Lot 1 improvements is $652,000; finance the cost of these improvements with L.I.D. improvements bonds by assessing benefited properties. 2. Design and install the 398 -stall Parking Lot 2. Finance the $1,407,825 cost of Parking Lot 2 improvements with L.I.D. improvement bonds by assessing the cost against benefited property owners. 3. Design and install the 52 -car Parking Lot 3 improvements. Finance the $191,875 cost for Parking Lot 3 improvements with L.I.D. improvement bonds by assessing the costs against benefited property owners. 4. Design and complete Center Street parking improvements for 2nd Street. Design and install Center Street parking improvements on South 4th street from Yakima Avenue, to East Walnut Street. 5. Carry out careful analyses of Yakima Avenue and 3rd Street and then design special treatments to best suit both the long- and short-range objectives for the use of these heavily traveled streets. 6. Since it appears from the parking analysis that the parking needs of businesses within the Yakima Mall block should be approximately equal to the parking supply within the block, there will be no significant benefit derived by surrounding properties from the parking provided by the Yakima Mall Garage. The purchase of the Yakima Mall Garage, therefore, must be assessed against properties within the Yakima Mall block as these are the only properties that 26 receive significant benefit from the purchase. If a $2.9 million purchase cost is used, the assessment for the properties in the Mall block would be approximately $11 per square foot of property area. The purchase of the Yakima Mall Garage is only recommended if property owners within the Yakima Mall block should petition the City Council for the purchase at an agreed price with the Mall Corporation. Financing 1. Washington State Pedestrian Mall legislation in Chapter 35.71 should be used to change the CBD from an automobile -dominated area into a pedestrian -oriented area. This will allow Center Street parking. Second Street has already been designated as a pedestrian mall under this legislation when the existing Center Street parking was carried out. 2. Finance $3,571,700 of proposed improvements by using L.I.D. improve- ment bonds for 20 years. This is comprised of $673,750 for general CBD improvements that include street trees with irrigation and intersection treatments, $646,250 for general alley improvements, and $2,251,700 for proposed off-street parking improvements. 3. Municipally fund $467,500 in general CBD improvements under the Pedestrian Mall legislation which allows the use of such financing methods as general obligation bonds, and general fund and other available monies. 4. Distribute L.I.D. assessment costs to all assessable properties in the CBD in accordance with the amount of benefit received by these properties from proposed improvements as recommended in this report. Operations 1. Direct a new "pedestrian mall organization" or use existing DARC Committee to establish and recommend basic operating procedures and guidelines for the centralized management of all on- and off-street parking in the downtown. 2. Institute a parking program goal that offers unlimited free parking for the customers and clients of downtown businesses; two hours free parking to employees, employers, residents, and hotel and motel guests; and provides paid monthly parking with rates that increase from $5 to $15 depending on how near the parking is to the center of the CBD. Use fines of about $25 for parking offenders who have already received a warning for their first offense. 3. Use a City staff person to manage the operations program and to supervise the parking operator who employs the parking checkers. 4. Finance the parking operation program using an annual levy against businesses in the downtown and distribute costs in proportion to the number of employees that each business employs. This method of levy is presently being used in the CBD to pay for parking enforce- ment costs in the area. 5. The City should attempt to control as much off-street parking in the downtown as possible. This may require the need to enter lease agreements with property owners in order to manage their parking lots. 6. Implement the operating program proposed even if the capital improve- ments proposed in this report are not carried out. 28 IMPROVING THE CBD On 3rd Street there is the historical Capital Theater and the Federal Building, both of which are Yakima landmarks. Trees in front of the Federal Building add beauty. Some treatment is needed to reduce the apparent width of this and other CBD streets, to add shade from the sun for pedestrians and cars, and to give safe but attractive lighting at night. Some businesses are already using architectural effects and landscaping to enhance their buildings and parking areas. The overhead wires in the alleys spoil the effect. 29 Implementation 1. Proceed with the legal steps required to complete the L.I.D. financing recommended and resolve the method of funding improve- ments that are recommended for municipal funding. 2. Direct the new "pedestrian mall organization" or the existing DARC Committee to carry out Recommendation 1 under Operations. 3. Select an architectural -engineering design team to formulate a practical action plan that would include the integrated design of CBD, vehicular, and pedestrian circulation plans; establish archi- tectural design standards for CBD street trees, street furniture, lighting, and signing to give the CBD a distinctive character of its own; draft an amenity program to locate plantings, street furniture, lighting, canopies, etc.; carry out parking planning all the way through to preliminary design; and make cost estimates of proposed improvements. 4. Carry the action plan into final design and construct the proposed improvements.