VIRGINIA BEACH — The city could have a new parking plan for the Oceanfront by the fall.
Deputy City Manager Doug Smith gave the possible timeline in a presentation Tuesday to the City Council, adding he expects it to include strategies tailored to small districts instead of one broad plan encompassing the 42 city blocks along the ocean.
Councilman John Uhrin, who represents the Oceanfront, requested the briefing. In it, Smith and Resort Administrator Mike Eason said there are enough nearby spaces but that improvements can always be made.
“We will never check this one off the list,” Smith said.
The topic has generated extra attention lately, for several reasons. Last month, the City Council reversed price hikes for resort area employee parking permits after a backlash. An 18,000-seat arena will soon be built at 19th Street, partially on a parking lot. And summer is fast approaching.
“You’ve got plenty of parking most of the time,” Smith said.
On peak weekends, several Oceanfront locations approach or surpass 85 percent occupancy, according to his presentation. Spaces are easier to come by on weekdays, it said.
The Oceanfront has more than 9,500 spaces. Of those: 2,150 are private, 700 are metered and 4,400 are residential (and can be used with an employee permit).
That leaves 2,340 spaces in solely public lots.
Building more is not necessarily the answer, Uhrin said.
In rough figures, building a surface lot costs the city $5,000 per parking space and an additional $300 in maintenance per yer per space. For a garage, those costs triple, according to Eason and Smith’s presentation.
Those dollars can add up quickly, Eason said. What doesn’t add up? The benefits, Uhrin said.
Parking is not always simply a supply issue; it is also a placement problem, the councilman said.
The resort area is long and relatively narrow, stretching out over dozens of blocks.
“And so one parking lot is not going to satisfy 42 blocks,” Uhrin said. “We have to have the right placement and the right capacity.”
Non-construction improvements that can help — and have — are old-fashioned, such as recently added permit processes and way-finding signs. More high-tech remedies are also being explored. Those include meters that work with mobile apps and garages that charge by the license plate instead of a ticket, Eason said. Such technologies could be at the Oceanfront in a few years, he said.
Mayor Will Sessoms said a new parking strategy plan is needed sooner than later, as developments, such as the arena and the planned redevelopment of the dome site, are on the horizon and could increase demand.
Uhrin said there is plenty to do now before the city gets to that point.
“We’re just going to have to continue to take a bite out of this apple,” he said.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://wydaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/6.-Resort-Parking-Status-and-Implementation.pdf”]
