sfmta employee parking proposal -...

July 22, 2010

SFMTA Employee Parking Proposal

Overview

SFMTA employees at many of the SFMTA’s yards and facilities currently receive free parking.

Parking provisions vary significantly at each site. They include:

Free parking in the bus and rail vehicle yards.

Free off-street parking in dedicated (i.e., not publicly available) lots or garages.

These privileges and free parking provisions encourage SFMTA employees to drive alone rather than utilize other forms of transportation such as public transit or carpooling, undermining the SFMTA’s goals for transportation as well as the City’s Transit First policy. Parking price and availability are two of the primary factors in how people decide to travel, whether by car or a more sustainable mode. Free or subsidized parking at work encourages people to drive, and these trips contribute to traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions. Although some SFMTA employees pay for parking every day, free parking for others can be perceived as unfair. As a transportation agency in a Transit First city, the SFMTA should lead by example by reducing parking subsidies for employees at SFMTA facilities.

Figure 1: Bay Area Commute Decisions (August 2000)

Transit

Drive Alone

Drive Alone

Transit

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

With Free Parking Without Free Parking

Per

cent

of S

urve

yed

Com

mut

ers

With Free Parking Without Free Parking

Drive Alone 77% 39%

Transit 5% 42%

Source: “Commute Profile 2000, a Survey of San Francisco Bay Area Commute Patterns”. RIDES for Bay Area Commuters, Inc. August 2000. Region-wide telephone survey of 3,600 commuters sponsored by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

A 2000 survey of Bay Area commuters sponsored by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission found large differences in travel behavior between groups of commuters that had access to free parking and those without access to free parking. The survey found that approximately 77 percent of commuters drove alone when free parking is available, but only 39 percent drove alone when free parking is not available. Less than 5 percent of commuters with free parking commuted by transit, versus 42 percent of commuters without free parking. Although the survey did not control for outside factors that influence commute decisions, the contrast suggests that free parking plays a large role in commute decisions.

Free parking for SFMTA employees, particularly for transit operators, has previously been justified by the need to have easy access to parking in order to get transit vehicles out on schedule. The early morning and late night hours of operation and security of vehicles on-street have also been cited as reasons for providing free parking for employees at division yards. While providing parking for SFMTA employees may be helpful for employees who already drive, there is no reason that paid parking would slow down operations or make parking more difficult for employees. Parking supply is very limited at most SFMTA facilities. Pricing parking appropriately can serve as a parking management strategy, to encourage some to carpool or use other modes of transportation, and thereby make it easier for others to find a parking space.

To address these issues, the SFMTA proposes to improve how it manages SFMTA employee parking privileges. The goal of this proposal is to apply the same parking management principles and policies to SFMTA employees that are applied to residents, business owners, and visitors. To achieve this goal and make it easier for those who do drive to find a space, the SFMTA proposes to:

Require all SFMTA employees to pay to park at all off-street parking facilities, including SFMTA yards, garages, and lots.

Place parking meters and/or time limits where appropriate.

Establish an employee parking permit for employees at operation and maintenance divisions.

Facilitate carpooling.

Convert the Scott Parking Garage (1849 Harrison Street) into a paid public parking garage.

These measures together would generate about $1,160,000 in new revenue annually (net of costs) for the SFMTA.

For mid-term implementation, the SFMTA is developing policy proposals for these additional areas:

• Remove parking benefits from future labor agreements.

• Improve bicycle infrastructure at SFTMA facilities.

Draft for internal review

Table of Contents

Overview

Table of Contents................................................................................................................................................... 1

Review of Current Practices ................................................................................................................................. 2

Proposal ............................................................................................................................................................... 24

Costs and Revenues............................................................................................................................................ 33

Review of Current Practices

This section summarizes current parking practices at SFMTA facilities. Each facility handles parking differently due to the amount and type of parking available, varying parking demand, and the context of the facility. Depending on the facility, parking provisions tend to include free parking in the yards, free off-street parking in lots or garages where available, and, in some locations, gaps in meters or Residential Parking Permit (RPP) zones near SFMTA facilities.

Summary of Current Parking Practices at SFMTA Facilities

Location Parking Summary

Est. Number of Free Off-Street Spaces

Office facilities

1 South Van Ness / 11 South Van Ness (SFMTA Headquarters)

There is no free parking for personal vehicles. A few employees use free parking at Scott Garage.

0

875 Stevenson (Security)

There is no free parking for personal vehicles. A few employees use free parking at Scott Garage.

0

821 Howard Street

The lease comes with two spaces, currently used for free by managers for their personal vehicles.

2

651 Brannan SFMTA does not plan to lease parking at this future rented office space.

0

1508 Fillmore #303 (Muni Peer Assistance Program)

There is no free parking arrangement for this leased office space. 0

Operations and/or Maintenance Yards

Woods Division

There is free employee parking in the Muni Yard, in a parking lot, and inside the maintenance facility. Most employees find on-street parking. Sidewalk parking violations occur on Indiana Street.

55

Kirkland Division

About 100 personal vehicles park in Kirkland yard while Muni vehicles are in operation.

100

Presidio Division

Employees park in a parking lot, two empty Muni garages, and in the Muni yard.

155

Summary of Current Parking Practices at SFMTA Facilities, continued


Est. Number Free, Off-Street Spaces

Flynn & Scott Divisions

Fewer than 10 employees park in the Flynn facility. Across the street, Scott Garage has free structured parking for about 200 City employees, not counting the 20 spaces that are typically used for SFMTA non-revenue vehicles that are awaiting maintenance. The free spaces are used by Flynn employees, SFPD vehicles, Animal Control employees, and some other SFMTA employees.

225

Potrero Division

Operators park on the upper deck and maintenance employees park in the garage and yard.

120

Metro East

This facility has a large parking lot, with about half the spaces reserved for management personnel and union representatives. There is sometimes parking behind the shop and there is ample on-street parking in the area.

150

Green Division & Geneva Yard

Employees park in the garage and yard at Green Division, in the yard at Geneva Division, and in a separate Muni light rail vehicle (LRV) lot.

175

Cable Car Barn Personal vehicles squeeze into the garage. This facility has reserved parking on streets surrounding the facility.

77 (includes reserved on-street parking)

Other operational facilities

131 Lenox Way (Central Control)

There is no free employee parking. There are two off-street parking spaces used for City vehicles.

0

700 Pennsylvania

There is no free employee parking. Employees are not allowed to replace City vehicles in the lot with their personal vehicles.

0

901 Rankin (Meter Shop, Signal Shop, Radio Shop)

About 75 employees can park in the parking lots at this location which is owned by the Department of Telecommunications. Only a few SFMTA employees park in the lot.

<10

1399 Marin This site will likely eventually contain employee parking related to the Islais Creek facility.

TBD

1507 Burke There is no off-street parking at this facility. 0

80 Charter Oak (Paint Shop)

Employees park on the street. 0

SFMTA Offices

One South Van Ness Avenue One South Van Ness, at Market Street, houses most of the administrative support functions of the SFTMA. The SFMTA leases several floors of this City-owned building. There is a parking garage attached to this office building. The SFMTA rents 31 spaces in the garage and another 15 spaces in the basement of the building which is used for revenue collection, for a total of 46 rented parking spaces. Only City vehicles are allowed to uses theses spaces. Some of these vehicles, however, may be taken home each night by an employee who is on call. Personal vehicles are not allowed to replace these vehicles while on duty. A March 2010 site visit confirmed that all the spaces are used by City vehicles and that no personal vehicles are receiving free parking at One South Van Ness. Some 1 South Van Ness employees currently have access to the Scott parking garage, a 15-minute walk away.

875 Stevenson This leased office space houses security personnel. There is a public paid garage attached to the facility. Many employees use the garage but must pay the normal garage rate. The lease comes with two parking

Summary of Current Parking Practices at SFMTA Facilities, continued


Est. Number Free, Off-Street Spaces

1975-1999 Bryant Street (Sign Shop)

There is no off-street parking. Employees park on the street. 0

Islais Creek (future facility)

This future facility will likely provide parking for a large number of employee private vehicles

TBD

Duboce Yard The few parking spaces at this site are not used for personal vehicles.

0

6th and King Only one City vehicle parks at this satellite yard. 0

505 7th Street / 899 Bryant (Enforcement)

Up to 20 leased spaces are used for personal vehicles of management or contain City vehicles that are switched out for personal vehicles during the day.

20

571 10th Street (Enforcement Dispatch)

Some employees park their personal vehicles at this site when there is space available.

10

spaces and the SFMTA leases another two spaces, but these four spaces are used for City vehicles only. Some of these vehicles, however, may be taken home each night by an employee who is on call. Some 875 Stevenson employees currently receive access to parking in the Scott Garage for free.

821 Howard Street The SFMTA leases this office building for design operations of the Central Subway Project. About nine SFMTA employees report to the site along with about 40 consultants. The lease comes with two parking spaces, which are used for free by the Project Manager and the head consultant. The site manager estimates that 10 percent of employees drive.

651 Brannan In addition to the 821 Howard Street facility described above, the Central Subway team will also occupy 651 Brannan Street office space in the very near future. This facility will hold 130 employees at maximum capacity, including no more than five SFMTA employees. No employees at this facility will receive free parking. There is an option to lease parking spaces for $220 per month but the site manager does not plan to lease any parking spaces for operations or employees.

1508 Fillmore #303 The SFMTA rents 2,183 square feet of commercial office space at 1508 Fillmore for the Muni Peer Assistance Program. There are about 15 employees or contractors there on a daily basis. There is no free parking at this site. Some employees park at a nearby grocery store lot but risk a ticket in doing so.

Motor Coach and Trolley Coach Facilities

Woods Division

Woods is Muni’s largest motor coach facility, located at 22nd and Indiana streets. The facility handles storage, maintenance, and dispatch of approximately 231 standard-size motor coaches, and also performs most maintenance activities for Kirkland’s 132 motor coaches.

About 550 employees work out of Woods, including about 150 maintenance employees and 400 operators. The largest demand for parking tends to occur before the 6 a.m. and 2 p.m. pull-outs (i.e., when operators begin a shift).

In the yard, there are about 10 reserved spaces, and fewer than 20 cars park in the yard on a daily basis. Fewer employees park in this yard compared to other divisions, where it is common practice to replace the outgoing buses with personal vehicles during the day. Woods does have a small front parking lot, which can accommodate about 25 cars.

There is ample on-street parking. The facility is surrounded on two sides by RPP zone “X”, but not on the blocks nearest the entrances. Adjacent land uses include a Caltrain Station, industrial buildings,

commercial uses, Interstate 280, and some residences. On Indiana Street, the sidewalk is frequently blocked by parked vehicles, primarily vehicles owned by SFMTA employees.

Parking Quantity Details

Yard 20

There is less parking in the yard than at most divisions. There is parking set aside for carpools, division superintendent, dispatcher, maintenance administration, Local 250A chairperson, operator of the month, assistant superintendent, and division instructor.

Front parking lot 25 Facing 22nd Street, there are two entrances to this lot, available on a first come, first served basis.

On-street Lots of

on-street available

Woods is surrounding on two sides by RPP zone “X”.

Inside maintenance facility

Fewer than 10

A few vehicles park around the doors of the maintenance facility facing Tubbs Street, and elsewhere.

Woods Division. Clockwise from top left: Woods yard, front parking lot, on-street parking near Caltrain, sidewalk violations on Indiana Street, and ample on-street parking on Indiana Street.

Kirkland Division

Located at Beach and Stockton streets in the Fisherman’s Wharf area, Kirkland Division is Muni’s oldest motor coach facility. Covering only 2.6 acres, parking is tight for the 132 coaches assigned there. Buses park on surrounding streets at night. Kirkland is surrounded by hotels, retail, and residences.

There are 49 maintenance employees and 300 operators at Kirkland. The Kirkland superintendent estimates that nearly all employees at this division drive to work. The largest maintenance shift occurs between 6 a.m. and 10:30 p.m., when about 20 maintenance employees are on duty.

Three operator parking spaces in the yard are reserved for the operator of the month, the senior shop steward, and the union chair. Maintenance and operator parking is separated at Kirkland, with reserved maintenance employee parking only in the northwest corner of the yard near the shop, and operators primarily occupying the south side of the yard near the operations office. In the Kirkland yard, there is room for about 20 personal vehicles of maintenance employees and about 80 personal vehicles of operators (at peak hour when many buses are out of the yard). It is likely that employee vehicles parked in Kirkland Yard slows down operations. Employees leave their keys with each other, or a supervisor, to move personal vehicles to unclog the yard if an operator does not make it back in time.

There is no dedicated off-street parking for employees. Employees park in the yard in empty bus stalls and on the surrounding streets. Outside the yard, employees must follow street regulations, competing with residents. Yard superintendents report that SFMTA Parking Control Officers (PCOs) often do not cite employee vehicles for parking violations on North Point Street.

Parking in the yard is viewed by operators as an important benefit at Kirkland. Parking in the yard operates on a first come, first served basis. Of the 300 operators at Kirkland, about 130 operators pull out between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. Every personal vehicle must be out of the lot by 7 p.m. so buses can return.

Although there are meters and Residential Parking Permit Zone "A" regulations elsewhere in the neighborhood, these parking regulations are absent on the blocks around Kirkland Yard. An adjacent parking garage charges a monthly parking rate of $150.


In the yard 100 There are consistently about 20 spaces for maintenance employees, and there are about 80 spaces for operators during peak hours. Three spaces are reserved for specific individuals.

On the street No

dedicated parking

In a busy, dense part of the City, on-street parking can be difficult to find. The nearby RPP zone “A” does not appear on the streets surrounding Kirkland. PCOs may avoid ticketing SFMTA employee vehicles.

Kirkland Division. From left to right: entrance on North Point Street, operator parking on west side of the yard, operator parking on the south side of the yard, and maintenance parking in northwest corner of yard.

Presidio Division

Presidio Division, located at Presidio Avenue and Geary Boulevard, stores, maintains, and dispatches about 165 electric trolley coaches on a 5.4 acre site. In addition to trolley coach maintenance, the facility also houses Muni’s Operator Training Center. Site management estimates that about 70 percent of the maintenance personnel drive to work and that 90 percent of the operator personnel drive to work.

There is a dedicated parking lot along Geary Street which typically holds about 40 personal vehicles of SFMTA employees. Sidewalk parking violations are common in front of the division building.

Employees park their vehicles throughout the yard where there is space, usually totaling 50 vehicles. They typically do not park in the spaces where buses park, but in between them.

There are two additional off-street parking areas at Presidio Division. The training facility uses a small garage that holds about 15 personal vehicles. Also in the historic building, an old trolley garage is now used for personal vehicles. It was opened up to employee parking in 2008 and now holds about 50 vehicles, including several spaces reserved for management, such as site superintendents, assistant superintendents and security.

There is some on-street parking available in the area, particularly on Masonic Street and Presidio Avenue. Presidio Avenue has an RPP zone “G” on one side, but not on the side of the SFMTA yard. Despite being across the street from a bustling grocery store, the east side of Masonic around the SFMTA yard does not currently have parking meters. Presidio Division sits at the corner of four different RPP zones − “F”, “G”, “P” and “L”.


Parking lot 40 Along Geary Street, there is a small parking lot that is primarily used for SFMTA employee parking.

Training garage 15 The training center uses a garage in the historic building for parking personal vehicles.

Old trolley garage 50 An old trolley garage in the historic building is now used for personal vehicles.

Yard 50 Some personal vehicles fit in the yard in between Muni stalls.

On-street None

reserved There is some unregulated on-street parking available, particularly on Masonic Street and Presidio Avenue.

Presidio Division. Top row: parking inside an old trolley garage; assigned parking. Middle row: personal vehicles fit in between Muni vehicles; personal vehicles near the maintenance facility. Bottom row: A 40-car parking lot along Geary Street near the front door; a sidewalk violation in front of the division office.

Flynn Division & Scott Division Flynn Division, at 15th and Harrison, accommodates articulated buses. It houses 136 60-foot coaches, and all maintenance, operations, and storage functions are housed in a large industrial building.

There is no parking lot at Flynn Division itself. There is minimal parking in the yard at Flynn, with fewer than 10 cars parking in the yard on a daily basis. The Flynn supervisors estimate that about 95 percent of Flynn Division’s employees drive to work.

There is significant competition for on-street parking in the area. University of California at San Francisco’s Mission Center next door draws lots of vehicles of commuting employees. UCSF’s public parking lot charges $20 per day.

Flynn employees have access to the Scott parking garage across Harrison Street. Scott Division consists of a small maintenance facility and a parking garage. The 116,144 square foot facility was built by Muni in 1990 and is valued at $15,810,000. Approximately 20 spaces in the garage are set aside to house Muni non-revenue vehicles awaiting repair. Aside from these reserved spaces, there are 207 parking spaces in the garage, used primarily for free employee parking.

Employees from Flynn Division, payroll and revenue at 1 South Van Ness, 875 Stevenson, the SFPD Muni Response Team, the City’s Animal Care and Control, and San Francisco Prevention for the Cruelty of Animals (SFPCA) park their personal vehicles in this garage for free. Some store their work vehicle there and trade it out for their personal vehicles while on duty in order to receive free parking.

The garage has sometimes been abused as long-term storage for personal vehicles, campers, and boats. Occasionally, an enforcement sweep has to be conducted to warn or remove vehicles that have been sitting for weeks. Sweeps of the garage occur when a union representative or Flynn employees complain about parking availability. Sometimes the campers are used daily by Muni operators who live far away and live out of a camper during the work week to avoid a long commute. Some police squad cars are also stored in the garage, which is fairly close to the Hall of Justice. The Animal Control and SFPCA employees also receive free parking in the Scott garage.

There is also a small parking lot along Alameda Street, providing 15 off-street parking spaces for Scott Division employees.


Scott garage 207 personal vehicles + 20 Muni vehicles

Used by Flynn, other SFMTA employees, SFPD, and Animal Control/SFPCA employees.

Scott lot 15 Used by Scott Division employees.

Flynn garage 10 A few personal vehicles park in the Flynn maintenance garage.

On-street Limited No RPP zones nearby and significant parking demand in the area.

Potrero Division

At Mariposa and Bryant Streets, the 4.4 acre Potrero Division dispatches, maintains, and stores 197 trolley coaches, including 93 60-foot articulated coaches.

There are about 200 employees at Potrero Division and management estimates that 95 percent of all employees drive to work. There is minimal parking tucked into the garage (one spot for a disabled employee) and the yard (about 15 personal vehicles may occupy one row in the middle of the yard and 20 maintenance employees fit into one designated corner of the yard). Most maintenance personnel park on the street.

The upper deck of the facility is used for bus parking at night but operators are allowed to park there until about 7 p.m. The deck can hold about 100 personal vehicles and is usually full. Employees leaving their personal vehicles give the keys to the superintendent or supervisor, who move the vehicles if needed. This indicates there is likely some disruption of Muni operations due to employee parking. While the deck holds most operators, there is some spillover onto the street. Some operators live out of recreational vehicles parked on the street during the week. Safety can be one concern at Potrero Division, as there have been some personal and vehicle safety incidents in the past.


Upper deck 100 Used for bus parking at night, operators park here during the day. They may leave their keys to move vehicles if they return late.

Garage/yard 20 For maintenance employees.

On-street Some

unregulated

There is some parking availability on-street, although there are safety concerns. Muni operators leave their vehicles unattended all day.

Scott Division. Scott parking garage; a small lot for Scott Maintenance Facility.

Rail Facilities

Metro East

Located on 25th Street near 3rd Street, Muni Metro East is one of SFMTA’s newest facilities. It supports the T-Third line and other light rail operations. It will eventually be the operating base for the Central Subway and the number of employees working from the facility will increase significantly. The 13-acre storage, maintenance, and operations facility also has more dedicated employee parking than most SFMTA facilities.

There are currently about 180 SFMTA employees working out of Metro East. Nearly all employees park either behind the shop or in the approximately 150 space parking lot, which is usually about two-thirds full. Management reports that when the facility is eventually running at full capacity there will be overflow onto the street. Nearly half the spaces are reserved spaces for management, a union representative, and specific groups at the facility, such as engineering and the storeroom. Many of the reserved spaces hold City vehicles overnight, which employees replace with their personal vehicle during their shift. Employees enter the lot from 25th Street through a wide gate where an attendant normally staffs a booth.

Metro East uses a placard system to determine who is authorized to park on the grounds. The placards are given to employees for free each January. This type of placard is also issued at Green Division and the Cable Car Barn. Although they are site specific, Green and Metro East placards are considered interchangeable since employees may move between sites. While other SFMTA parking permits are closely supervised and are only used for City operations, these Muni yard placards are given to operators and maintenance employees for free and are disseminated through Muni Operations rather than SFMTA Customer Service like other SFMTA-issued permits.

There is typically on-street parking available on 25th and Michigan streets, which are very close to the facility and will likely absorb most of the increase in parking demand when the Metro East facility is fully operational.


Employee parking lot 150 About half of the spaces are reserved for various management personnel and a union representative.

Potrero Division. Free employee parking on the upper deck where buses are stored at night; Reserved management and union representative parking; Only a few personal vehicles currently park in the Potrero Yard.

On-Street ∼125 There is ample parking available directly adjacent to the main gates, on both sides of 25th Street as well as on Michigan Street.

Behind shop Varies

Metro East: Top, Metro East parking lot; Reserved parking. Bottom, Parking lot entrance from 25th Street; Attendant booth near 25th Street entrance.

Green Division & Geneva Yard Located diagonally from each other, Green Division and Geneva Yard share some parking facilities. The site superintendents estimate that 90 percent of employees drive to work at Green and Geneva, while a few use the adjacent BART station. RPP area “V” starts just south of these facilities.

Green is located along San Jose Avenue, on the north side of Ocean Avenue. The 7-acre site is a full-service light rail vehicle facility. Green has about 500 total employees. It is estimated that about 15 percent of operations employees at Green park on-street. Within Green Division’s garage, there are about 75 dedicated parking spaces. There are typically about 10 personal vehicles parked in the Green yard, including four reserved for management.

Across the street, Geneva Yard is Muni’s primary facility for historic streetcars, providing storage and maintenance for up to 50 cars, as well as a paint/body shop for light rail vehicles (LRVs) and historic cars. At Geneva, there is some parking from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. While construction currently limits parking space more than normal, there eventually will be about 30 parking spaces at Geneva.

In between the two facilities is a light rail vehicle parking area that is used for employee parking between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. when the rail vehicles are in service. Vehicles enter and exit from San Jose Avenue. The upper yard can hold up to about 60 personal vehicles which must display an SFMTA placard to park there. Violators are ticketed. The Green placard works at the Metro East facility because operators sometimes cover shifts at other locations or may transfer to a different facility.


Green garage 75

Green yard 10 Includes 4 reserved for management.

Geneva yard 30 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. only

Upper yard 60 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. only

On-street Limited Most employees find off-street spaces on SFMTA property.

Upper Yard. Parking on the tracks at the Upper Yard near Green and Geneva Yards; A 2010 Green Division parking permit; Time limitations for personal parking in the Upper Yard.

Geneva Yard and Green Yard. Top: Employee parking in Geneva Yard with time limits; Bottom: reserved employee parking in Green Yard.

Cable Car Barn

Muni’s fleet of 40 cable cars is stored, maintained, and dispatched from the Cable Car Barn at Mason and Washington streets. The building includes the Cable Car Museum. There tends to be very little turnover at the Cable Car Barn compared to other divisions. The operations superintendent estimates that 98 percent of employees drive to work, and the majority live outside the City.

The Cable Car Barn has very limited employee parking. There is no lot or garage for employee parking. The largest group of operators arrives at 5 a.m. for a 5:40 a.m. pull-out. About 40 personal vehicles, along with 10 motorcycles in the summer months, currently squeeze into the Cable Car Barn. There are occasionally some problems with personal vehicles blocking the cable cars. Employees typically leave their keys in the vehicle for the site superintendent, supervisors, or other employees to move vehicles as necessary. All the parking in the garage is on a first come, first served basis, except about six spaces reserved for the dispatcher, superintendent, shop supervisors, operator of the month, and union chair. A few City vehicles also park in the garage. Nearby parking garages charge about $12 per day or $350 per month (24/7 access).

The Cable Car Barn is the only division to have reserved on-street parking, totaling about 37 spaces on Washington, Mason, and Jackson streets surrounding the facility. This reserved parking is specified in the Transportation Code (Section 32.1.10). Signs indicate “No stopping except vehicles with permit issued by SFMTA.” Cable Car Barn parking placards are given to employees for free as authorization to park in these spaces. Unlike the parking placards at the other rail facilities, Green and Metro East, the Cable Car Barn placard only works at this single location. The permit numbers are attached to an employee name, not a license plate, so as to be interchangeable. The operations superintendent reports there is some abuse of this free parking (e.g. a vehicle will remain unmoved for long periods of time). There are often a couple of City vehicles parked on the sidewalk against the building. Personal vehicles with an employee parking placard often park in the middle of the sidewalk. The superintendents at the division do have the ability to ticket vehicles, but primarily use it to enforce the site’s reserved on-street parking rather than SFMTA employee infractions.


Cable Car Yard 40 About 40 personal vehicles and 10 motorcycles now park in the Cable Car Barn, including six reserved spaces.

Reserved on-street 37

SFMTA employees have reserved parking on Washington, Mason and Jackson streets surrounding the Cable Car Barn. On-Street parking elsewhere in the neighborhood is challenging. RPP Area “C” applies to most streets surrounding the Cable Car Barn.

Cable Car Barn. Top, Employee parking in the Cable Car Barn; Reserved employee parking. Middle, On-street reserved parking on Washington Street; Sidewalk violation by SFMTA employee vehicle on Mason Street. Bottom, Reserved signs that surround the Cable Car Barn on Washington, Mason and Jackson Streets.

Other Operational Facilities

Central Control At 131 Lenox Way, adjacent to West Portal Metro Station, Central Control houses about 55 employees in the digital shop, radio shop, and central shop. The facility operates around the clock. This site also sees a lot of temporary visitors, particularly from signal maintenance, custodial, and information technology. There is no off-street parking at the facility, with the exception of two spots just off the street which tend to be used for City vehicles. Employees park on-street, competing with commuters and residents parking near the station.

700 Pennsylvania Avenue Administrative offices of SFMTA’s Maintenance Engineering and Fleet Engineering sections are located at this facility, along with Muni’s maintenance-of-way functions, shops, and storage. There are about 250 employees at the facility, including some overnight employees, and site management estimates about 95 percent drive, with the remainder arriving by bus and some by carpool. Proximity to Caltrain does increase transit options.

There is no employee parking on the site, with the exception of a few motorcycles in one corner of the lot. There are parking spaces for City vehicles on the site, with 90 percent assigned to specific vehicles. Site management does not allow switching out of City vehicles for personal vehicles while the City vehicle is in use. Employees find parking on-street, along with Caltrain commuters, Woods Division employees, local businesses and neighbors. There is some unregulated parking on Pennsylvania Avenue and most of the parking to the north of the facility is in RPP zone “X”. Site management reports employees complain about difficulty finding parking spaces and about the occasional automobile burglaries that occur on Pennsylvania Avenue. The facility does have security cameras but for privacy reasons they can only cover the facility’s facade. Street cleaning hours make finding parking particularly challenging on Mondays and Wednesdays.

901 Rankin Although owned by the Department of Technology and not the SFMTA, 901 Rankin contains SFMTA’s Meter Shop, Signal Shop, and the Manager of Field Operations office, along with the Department of Telecommunication’s Radio Shop. This site does have some free off-street parking for employees. The lots and driveways on the property can hold about 75 personal vehicles in addition to City vehicles located at the site. There are about 25 on-street parking spaces directly in front of the facility on Rankin Street.

1399 Marin At the corner of Marin and Indiana streets, 1399 Marin Street has a 25,000 square foot warehouse and adjacent 2.6 acre parcel which the SFTMA rents from the Port of San Francisco. At this site, SFMTA stores several historic streetcars awaiting restoration. The site is across the street from the planned Islais Creek facility is set to accommodate employee parking from that facility.

1507 Burke Avenue The Burke Avenue facility, off of Third Street, serves as a central warehouse. There are currently only two employees at the site and they park on the street. There is no off-street parking at this site.

80 Charter Oak (Paint Shop) About 25 employees work at the SFMTA’s Paint Shop. Site management estimates nearly every employee drives to work. The site has a small parking lot where City vehicles are parked. Employees park on the street, particularly on Charter Oak Avenue in front of the facility.

1975-99 Bryant Street (Sign Shop) There are about 25 employees at the SFMTA’s Sign Shop. Site management estimates that nearly every employee drives to work. There is no off-street parking provided. All of the site’s employees park on streets surrounding the facility, particularly on Bryant, 18th and York streets.

Islais Creek The future Islais Creek facility is expected to provide parking for 165 40-foot motor coaches, 19 non-revenue vehicles (mostly maintenance trucks), and a large number of employee private vehicles.

Duboce Yard This satellite facility to Geneva Yard, just off of Market Street, is where Market Street Railway volunteers help rehabilitate and maintain the historic streetcars. A few parking spaces are reserved, but not for personal use.

6th and King This large satellite yard near the Caltrain Terminal is used for overnight storage of 20 LRVs due to overcrowding at Green Division and Geneva Yard. Aside from LRVs, only one City vehicle parks at the site and no personal vehicles park there.

505 7th Street / 899 Bryant Street (Enforcement) The Enforcement Division has 282 employees and Enforcement management estimates about 20 percent drive, with many employees carpooling to work. They are headquartered at 7th and Bryant streets, and Enforcement has parking lots around the area for parking enforcement vehicles. For the most part, Enforcement employees do not receive free parking. There are some exceptions. Enforcement leases 26 stalls near the main building, at a cost of $100 per month for each stall. About 20 of these spaces are used by personal vehicles of Supervisors and Assistant Directors or contain City vehicles that are switched out for personal vehicles during shifts. There is a small stretch of reserved parking in front of the Enforcement office, but it is meant only for use by City vehicles and is primarily used for enforcement vehicles to stop by the office or switch Parking Control Officers (PCOs).

The Enforcement Division’s total fleet of 325 vehicles is primarily spread across four other locations: 6th and Townsend, 2323 Cesar Chavez, 501 10th Street, and 455 7th Street. The smaller Go-4 PCO vehicles make up 280 of the 325 vehicle fleet. PCOs have the option of performing their duties on bike rather than by

vehicle, which helps to reduce parking demand at these facilities. While there currently are only four PCOs on bike, there have been up to 12 in the past. Biking employees are required to make a one year commitment to use their bike.

571 10th Street This small site is used for Enforcement dispatch. Some employees park there, but fewer than 10 personal vehicles could fit on the site. There is unregulated parking on 10th Street.

SFMTA facilities not listed in this report did not have a significant number of employees or will soon be consolidating at other locations. For example, the SFgo office space at 25 South Van Ness has only one employee and that employee does not receive free parking.

Proposal

To address the issues summarized in this document, the SFMTA proposes to change how it manages SFMTA employee parking. The goals of this proposal include:

• Improve parking management at SFMTA facilities.

• Encourage the use of sustainable modes of transportation, such as transit, carpooling, and bicycling.

• Improve equity of parking management by eliminating special parking privileges for SFMTA employees.

• Require payment for parking by the employees using it and make it easy to pay.

Currently, the cost for some employee parking is passed on to the Agency which increases SFMTA costs and encourages transport by single occupancy vehicles. The price of parking is perhaps the most effective tool for managing parking demand. Where parking is free, demand for parking increases. Where there is a cost associated with parking, demand for parking decreases. As the SFMTA requires San Franciscans to pay for parking, SFMTA employees should lead by example.

This proposal to implement paid parking by SFTMA employees varies by site because each facility is different. Many SFMTA employees currently park on-street, and at most divisions some employees park inside the Muni yard, temporarily replacing buses and trains that are out on their routes.

SFMTA employee parking considerations Safety of vehicle and employee. Many shifts start and end at odd hours, and transit operators leave their vehicles alone on the street for long stretches of time while working.

Clogging of the yards. At many of the yards, employee vehicles are parked in between Muni vehicles or in transit vehicle parking spaces while the transit vehicles are pulled out on runs. In some cases, employee vehicles in the yard occupy valuable operations space, delaying Muni operations, or using a Supervisor’s or Superintendent’s time to move or tow personal vehicles in order to park a Muni transit vehicle. Parked personal vehicle could potentially create safety hazards in the yards.

Appropriate price. In applying a price for parking, SFMTA can use the price set in the City’s administrative code, expressed as the price of a Muni fast pass plus $10. This price is expressed in some applicable collective bargaining agreement language. Thus, the SFMTA would charge $80 per month, which is far below market value in most areas of the City. While some applicable union contracts currently require this price, market rate would be more appropriate for future pricing. Pricing at each facility is proposed to be reviewed no less than every two years.

Neighborhood context. Parking pressures differ at each facility. The SFMTA wishes to manage demand but not push it further away from the facilities.

Administrative overhead. The parking payment system should avoid high long-term administrative costs and burdens.

Enforcement challenges. Paid parking at SFMTA facilities will require effective enforcement. Because the lots are not public lots, enforcement may depend on warnings and then towing of vehicles.

Contain eligibility and applicability. Parking privileges should not be expanded so as to give SFMTA employees special parking privileges.

Proposal Summary The SFMTA recommends implementation of the following employee parking provisions:

Employees must purchase and display a permit to be able to park on SFMTA property.

The permit cost will be tied to the cost of a Muni fast pass plus $10, which will initially cost $80 per month.

The permit could be purchased in increments by the hour, day, week, or month.

The permits can be purchased at machines at each site. Employees would display the permit in their vehicle window to prove payment.

Motorcycles must also display proof of payment to park in the yards.

The SFMTA will “normalize” on-street parking regulations around Muni facilities (e.g., install parking meters near busy commercial areas)

The SFMTA would review parking policy at each yard to ensure personal vehicle parking does not interfere with Muni operations in any way.

At a few facilities, the permit may work on particular streets in order to preserve current parking supply or prevent parking spillover into neighborhoods. These on-street parking spaces would not be reserved but the SFMTA permit would allow the permit holder to park there without time limit.

This framework can be applied to Muni yards. Other SFMTA facilities may merit different recommendations, such as the SFMTA simply ceasing payment for leased employee parking. Other details, considerations, and possibilities are explained below.

Provide convenient ways for SFMTA employees to pay for parking With approximately 5,000 employees, requiring payment for parking will require significant coordination. In implementing a permit system, there are many factors to consider, including:

Making it easy to pay for smaller increments of parking (e.g., a week rather than a year) could help reduce an employee’s sunk costs related to parking and help encourage mode shifts.

Providing single use permits for purchase at each facility will help accommodate employees who normally use an alternative mode of transportation but occasionally must drive and park at work (e.g., they get called in at an unusual hour).

There is some transference of employees between different yards. Typically once a year, the unions have a ‘sign-up’ by which employees are reassigned to a new yard based on preference by seniority. Similarly, an employee can be called to cover a shift at another location. Coach and rail specific permits as well as easily purchased daily permits will help overcome this challenge.

In requiring purchase of a parking permit, the SFMTA has four options for their distribution and payment: payroll deduction, online payment, machine-issued permits, or permits issued by site personnel.

SFMTA employee parking permit payment and distribution options

Option Pros Cons

Payroll deduction Ease of payment for

employees No cash handling

May seem like pay reduction Takes longer to cancel Heavy administrative burden

Online purchasing Decentralized; does not

require much management to purchase

Can probably only purchase monthly

Takes longer to cancel Would still lead to a heavy

workload for Customer Service

Machine issued

Less administrative burden Employees can purchase at

site Machine-issued permits are

more discrete on-street

Can program to allow purchase by hour, day, week or month.

Could be more difficult for enforcement to see

Site personnel

Employees can purchase at site

Avoids some Human Resources burden

Depends on site superintendents to implement

Requires cash handling

It is recommended the SFMTA avoid payroll deduction due to the challenges in enrolling and cancelling given relatively short notice (e.g., one week). Because the goal of this proposal is to change the transportation behavior of employees, the SFMTA should make it easy for an employee to cease paying for parking and start using other forms of transportation. Payroll deduction could also result in paid parking being perceived as a wage reduction, rather than relevant transportation policy.

Online payment, via a special website, could allow employees to purchase a parking pass using a credit or debit card. Tracking of payment and distribution of the permits to individual employees at each site could still cause significant administrative hurdles. For both the payroll deduction and online payment mechanism, the SFMTA would have to then distribute the permit and/or stickers either via mail or via each site superintendent. The SFMTA may not want to put the superintendent in the position of administering this program.

Cash payment at each site and/or at the Customer Service window at 11 South Van Ness has similar hurdles. Requiring purchase at 11 South Van Ness is probably infeasible, considering the high number of employees likely to purchase the permit.

The SFMTA recommends using machine-issued permits. Machines could allow the ability to easily purchase hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly permits, which employees would then display in their windshield either in the yard or in parking lots or garages. Each appropriate SFMTA yard or other facility could have one or multiple machines depending on site configuration and size. It is recommended that there be at least two machines per yard, located within sight of the main office. A machine-based solution is decentralized and does not require the site superintendent to actively manage parking payment. There are maintenance costs, though they are likely significantly less than the staff time needed to issue permits using other approaches. Potential downsides include enforcement challenges, significant implementation costs, and

ongoing maintenance costs. To discourage any incentive to damage the machines the SFMTA will need to have a back up payment mechanism, such as requiring that the site superintendent’s office collect payment and distribute passes.

The SFMTA will provide a permit for each yard. Permits for Metro East and Green Division could be interchangeable, as could permits for the bus yards. Permits for the Cable Car Barn would only work at that site. The permit is only valid for use while commuting to work or conducting SFMTA business.

Cost The price of an SFMTA employee parking permit is proposed to be $80 per month, equal to the cost of a Muni Fast Pass plus $10. The price of the permits would remain tied to the price of Fast Passes, so the price of the permit will be adjusted with the price of the Fast Pass. Parking would cost $80 per month, $20 per week, $5 per day, or $1 per hour. The cost may change depending on any changes to parking language in union contracts. In the future, the cost of the permits may be adjusted to better reflect market rates; SFMTA would evaluate prices at each facility at least every two years.

Who is eligible? In this proposal, only official SFMTA, City, or emergency vehicles could park at SFMTA lots, garages, and yards without payment. SFMTA employees are required to have the appropriate permit to park personal vehicles at an SFMTA facility or to ignore time limits for nearby on-street parking. SFMTA employees are not required to purchase a permit. As per state law, handicapped employees displaying a handicapped placard are already excused from time limits on the street but would be required to pay to park off-street, including in division yards.

Scott Parking Garage at 1849 Harrison.

Site Specific Recommendations

Scott Garage

It is recommended that the 227 space Scott Parking Garage become available for paid public parking. SFMTA would contract a parking management company and Scott Garage would become SFMTA’s 21st public parking garage, charging market rates. The garage is well-located in a busy commercial area. A surface lot across the street charges $20 per day or $2.50 per hour to park. It is estimated that the 227 space parking garage would generate at least $310,000 per year for the SFMTA. Staff will evaluate the feasibility of conversion and prepare a detailed plan.

The 20 spaces currently used for Muni non-revenue vehicles, typically those awaiting repair, can either be set aside for Muni use, paid for at the same rate by Muni, or the vehicles moved elsewhere.

Offices

1 South Van Ness & 875 Stevenson

Although there is no free parking for personal vehicles at 1 South Van Ness or 875 Stevenson, those employees currently parking personal vehicles for free at Scott Garage would be subject to garage parking prices.

The City vehicles that park at 1 South Van Ness and 875 Stevenson at the agency’s expense should be charged for parking if they are used as a personal vehicle (i.e., the vehicles are driven home each night).

821 Howard Street

Employees should assume payment for the two parking spaces at this site if they wish to continue using them for personal vehicles.

Rail yards

It is proposed that SFMTA begin charging for the permit employees receive to park at their workplace. The rail facility permit would no longer be free. It would allow the employee to park at SFMTA rail facilities while

working. Muni Operations would review employee parking at each rail yard to ensure personal vehicle parking does not interfere with Muni operations in any way.

Green Division and Geneva Yard/Shop The paid permit would be required in order to park within the Green garage, the Green yard, the Geneva yard, and the Upper Yard. Any reserved spots at these facilities should only be for essential functions or carpools and would still require payment. This permit would not be valid for on-street parking.

Cable Car Barn Reserved on-street parking should be removed from the streets surrounding the Cable Car Barn, as it represents special treatment for Muni employees. On-street regulations should reflect neighborhood context, which may mean time limits or deregulated parking would replace the existing reserved spaces. The Cable Car Barn employee permit will still excuse time limits on those particular streets, but the spaces will no longer be reserved. This change will require changing the Transportation Code. Employees would be required to display proof of payment to park their personal vehicles within the Cable Car Barn. Site superintendents have the ability to enforce parking violations and should be directed to use it to ticket personal vehicles parked on the sidewalk in front of the facility. City vehicles should also cease parking consistently on the sidewalk in front of the facility. Reserved parking spaces for City vehicles can be added inside the garage to avoid sidewalk violations. Reserved parking within the facility should only be designated for City vehicles, essential functions, or carpools and would still require payment for all personal vehicles.

Metro East At Metro East Division, it is recommended that the existing permit be replaced with the paid permit so that only City vehicles or vehicles displaying the paid permit are allowed to park in the facility or behind the maintenance shop. Any personal vehicle, even those replacing a City vehicle, would be required to pay for the permit. The lot currently contains dozens of reserved spaces. The facility should remove some reserved spots, retaining only those for City vehicles, carpools, or for operational necessity.

Because these changes will likely cause spillover parking to nearby streets, particularly 25th Street and Michigan Street, staff will determine if allowing on-street use of the permit and installing time limits on 25th Street and Michigan Street could help control spillover parking.

Motor coach and trolley coach facilities Muni Operations would review employee parking at each coach yard to ensure personal vehicle parking does not interfere with Muni operations in any way.

Kirkland Division Implementation of paid parking at Kirkland yard requires permit parking on the yard. To improve on-street parking management, SFMTA should install parking meters (no time limit, payable with credit card) on North Point, Beach, Stockton, and Powell Streets.

Woods Division It is recommended that a permit be required to park on the yard (including reserved spaces), in the lot on 22nd Street, in and around the maintenance facility, and anywhere else on the property.

The proximity to Caltrain and Muni’s 700 Pennsylvania Avenue Facility, coupled with the fact that these Muni employees arrive very early, could result in SFMTA employees simply using all of the parking on Pennsylvania Avenue to avoid payment on the site. It is recommended that staff consider installing meters with no time limit and low rates on Pennsylvania Avenue and Iowa Street around the Caltrain station. This arrangement could minimize SFMTA employee parking spillover in response to required payment.

There is a sidewalk parking violation problem on Indiana Street by SFMTA employees, requiring immediate enforcement.

Flynn Division/Scott Division The SFMTA is currently maintaining a valuable multistory parking garage primarily used for free employee parking, encouraging City employees to drive to work. It is recommended that the Scott Garage become a public garage, with proposed rates set at market rate. The SFMTA could generate approximately $310,000 per year in new revenue from converting Scott Garage to a public garage.

SFMTA employees would be required to display the SFMTA permit to park in the Flynn Yard and the Scott Division parking lot. Other Flynn employees can continue to park at Scott Garage, but they must pay the public rate.

Converting the Scott Parking Garage to a public parking garage and requiring payment to park in Flynn Garage and the Scott parking lot will result in increased competition for on-street spaces. Because Muni employees tend to arrive much earlier than the UCSF employees next door, they would likely utilize all those spaces, restricting available spaces for UCSF employees. These employees, however, do have a large paid public lot, charging $20 per day.

Potrero Division The SFMTA parking permit should be displayed to park on the upper deck and in the garage and yard.

Presidio Division There is significant off-street employee parking supply at Presidio. The garages, the lot and the yard should all require proof of payment for personal vehicles.

Staff should study parking demand in this area to determine if parking meters or time limits are warranted on Masonic Street or other nearby streets. On Masonic Street to the west of the yard, there is no metered parking despite a bustling grocery store across the street. The west side has no parking and there is a constant long queue of cars on Masonic waiting to park at the grocery store. The high parking demand may warrant meters on the east side of the street, the side next to the SFMTA yard. If installed, the meters should charge normal SFMTA meter rates but have long time limits.

Other operational facilities While many of the other operational facilities do not currently provide free parking and do not require changes to implement paid parking, some do.

700 Pennsylvania Avenue Although this site does not provide any free, off-street parking, planning for this site should be coordinated with nearby Woods Divisions and perhaps the 22nd Street Caltrain Station. This type of arrangement is described above in the site specific recommendation for Woods Division.

901 Rankin The SFMTA should work with the Department of Technology to ensure SFMTA employees are not receiving free off-street parking at this facility.

1507 Burke Avenue The SFMTA should require that the two off-street spaces are only to be used for City vehicles and not personal vehicles.

Islais Creek Future facilities, such as Islais Creek, should incorporate paid parking before opening for operations.

Facilitate carpooling to SFMTA facilities Requiring payment for parking should encourage SFMTA employees to carpool to work. The SFMTA will facilitate carpooling, paying attention to the unique hours and shifts at division yards.

The SFMTA employee carpool plan will include:

Reserved carpool spaces at SFMTA facilities. Some of the parking spaces at division yard parking lots will be converted to reserved parking spaces for carpools.

SFMTA employee rideshare website. A new self-serve Internet-based ridematching service for SFMTA employees will be created. It will use the existing 511 RideMatch Service (RMS) but will be redesigned to target SFMTA employees.

Carpool outreach. A carpool outreach program will occur in the months leading up to implementation of paid employee parking. It will target all SFMTA facilities, with an emphasis on those sites most affected by the policy change toward paid parking.

Mid-Term Recommendations The preceding recommendations are intended for implementation in the short-term. The SFMTA will also develop additional parking management policy proposals, summarized below, which require additional research and development and thus are for mid-term implementation.

Remove parking benefits from future labor agreements Free and reserved parking provisions are included in some of the City’s and SFMTA’s collective bargaining agreements with unionized City employees. Any change to a memorandum of understanding involves renegotiation of employee contracts. Free or reserved parking is not an appropriate employment benefit and should be eliminated from future agreements as they come up for negotiation. SFMTA proposes to monitor those agreements that currently provide for free employee parking and work with the appropriate

departments to ensure that free parking or other parking privileges are not included in future bargaining agreements.

Improve bicycle infrastructure at SFMTA facilities As SFTMA moves toward reducing its employees’ reliance on single occupancy vehicles, there is significant room for improvement in bike infrastructure at SFMTA facilities. Currently, no SFMTA yards have bike racks to facilitate future demand for employees to commute by bicycle. Many of the yards already have the infrastructural advantage of having showers installed. Future facilities should include comprehensive bicycle infrastructure, such as secure indoor bicycle storage and showers. The SFMTA Real Estate staff and Bicycle Program staff should coordinate to provide bicycle storage at each SFMTA facility. The Department of Environment can also arrange to have fleet bicycles at SFMTA facilities, to be used for work related trips. In addition, the Department of Environment can assist particular SFMTA departments in pursuing bicycle cargo trailers for SFMTA operations if there is demand.

Next Steps In pursuing changes to SFMTA employee parking, it is recommended that staff:

Communicate to all site superintendents that paid parking will soon be required.

Communicate to employees that payment will soon be required.

Work with SFMTA Enforcement to create an enforcement plan.

Review payment machine options.

Meet with labor representatives.

Measuring Success In early 2010, the SFMTA completed its first ever transportation survey of its own employees as part of the effort to develop a Climate Action Plan for the agency. Through the measures outlined in this proposal, the SFMTA can identify a quantifiable goal for reducing travel by personal occupancy vehicles, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce demand for parking infrastructure at SFMTA facilities.

Costs and Revenues

This policy proposal is expected to generate revenue for the SFMTA as described below.

Charge SFMTA employees for parking

Estimated annual revenue for charging to park at SFMTA facilities $810,900

Estimated annual revenue from new meters around SFMTA facilities

$39,600

Annual revenue from on- and off-street parking management at SFMTA facilities

$850,500

Implementation costs $420,000

Convert Scott Garage to public garage

Annual net revenue from Scott Garage $310,000


Proposals Combined (charge employees to park; new meters around SFMTA facilities; convert Scott Garage to public garage)

Annual net revenue $1,160,500


sfmta employee parking proposal -...

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