comprehensive parking plan report

COMPREHENSIVE

PARKING PLAN

FRANKLIN, NH Consumer Behavior & Market Research

ABSTRACT This Comprehensive Parking Plan is a study of parking

needs in the downtown of Franklin, New Hampshire.

The report contains overview of the problem, research

methodology, result, and long-term recommendation

to improve the parking system in future.

Hoang Phan; Anita Paniagua; Kohl Meyers; Wol Majong; Jake Dube

Project leader: Todd Workman

Project instructor: William F. Spear

COMPREHENSIVE PARKING PLAN – FRANKLIN, NH 1

Table of Contents

Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................2

Introduction....................................................................................................................................3

Research Methodology....................................................................................................................4

Result ............................................................................................................................................5

Recommendations...........................................................................................................................5

Shuttle for commuters.................................................................................................................6

Innovative Parking System ...........................................................................................................6

Structured Parking - Underground Parking garage .........................................................................9

Gated Parking ........................................................................................................................... 10

Solar Panel Parking .................................................................................................................... 10

Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 11

References.................................................................................................................................... 12

Appendices................................................................................................................................... 13

Appendix A ............................................................................................................................... 13

Appendix B ............................................................................................................................... 13

Appendix C................................................................................................................................ 14

Appendix D ............................................................................................................................... 14


Executive Summary

This report provides an analysis and evaluation of the current parking situation of

Franklin, a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The problem is one of

the big factors that makes Franklin a place not many people want to visit or to live.

To solve this issue, different research methodology were used including exploratory

research and obtrusive research, and sampling. One-week period was sampled to represent the

bigger population. Secondary data is also been used. The town of Davidson in North Carolina

has similar problem with Franklin and it has developed a detailed comprehensive parking plan.

All data collected can be found in the Appendices.

Results of data analyzed show that Franklin has relatively low utilization. Main street

parking is usually full during the day but other parking spaces is empty. These main street spaces

are usually occupied by employees that makes it difficult for customer to park. A change is

needed to increase utilization of other parking lots and reduce that of Main Street.

Many recommendations are proposed for each stages of the project. For phase III, the

suggestion includes having alternative transportation for employees and residents, using

innovative parking system, building gated parking, solar panel parking, and underground garage.

These approaches will be explained further in Recommendation section.

It is important to mention that this report has some limitations during the research.

Limitations include the lack of time and human resources. The sampling process was only one

week long to represent the problem that lasts for a long time. Another limitation is the lack of

authorization. The research group had hard time communicating with the councils and police

department to collect detailed data on current parking plan.


Introduction

The city of Franklin, New Hampshire has a population of around 9,000 people living in

an old mill town, which is the lowest among 13 New Hampshire cities. With a bright future

ahead with the work of Todd Workman, Franklin is looking to be a city for the future, but first

has to take care of some major problems. When Todd first came to us back in March, he talked

about how overnight parking, parking on Main Street, and the parking layout the city has are all

problems.

The problem with overnight parking is that only certain parking lots have overnight

parking that are either owned by the city or tenants. The distance between where the apartments

are located and where the actual parking lots are is a long walk and can be problem at night.

Currently there are no overnight parking sports on Main Street which has been leading to a lot of

parking tickets because that is where most of the apartments are located. The other problem with

Main Street during the day time is that employees will park in front of the store instead of out

back or at a bigger town parking lot. This is a problem because it causes the customers to walk a

further distance or just continue driving to Tilton instead. Also, the parking layout of the city is

not neat and needs to be reviewed or changed. When our team went to visit Franklin, Mr.

Workman showed us some changed he would like to make, for example getting rid of the skate

park and adding parking there.

Another problems our team picked realized is how the city council does not like change.

That is probably the major problem of this project because the ideas and money are in place but

the approval with the city council is not. Todd also noted that none of the city council members

are living in Franklin which poses as a problem because they are not faced with these hardships


every day. Our team has developed some recommendation to address these problem. We focus

more on improving the town in the long term.

Research Methodology

Our main objective was to find out how well the parking lots surrounding downtown

Franklin are being utilized. To get these results we performed an exploratory research to gain

insight on what percentage of cars occupy each lot in terms of capacity and utilization. The

information that we are pursuing is primary data because the problem with Franklin’s downtown

is its inability to provide adequate overnight parking and daytime parking to its guest and

residents. To find the amount of cars parked in each parking lot we used observation as our

research method. In particular we used structured observation because our problem has been

specifically defined and our results will help us better understand the problem we are facing. We

used direct obtrusive research in which everyone was aware of what we were doing. A GIS map

is created by the Environmental Studies team to help making the progress easier (Appendix A)

Our sample design was data reported on the number of cars in each parking lot during the

hours of 10am to 12pm and 8pm to midnight for an entire week. Subjects went and counted cars

for an estimate of one hour. This is only a sample because the numbers could have changed after

our departure. We also only recorded information based on one week which does not give us a

clear understanding of day to day parking. Some errors that could have skewed our data include

us not taking into account people going on vacation or business trips. Based on the results we get

in the one-week period, we can only estimate the average utilization. Although this is just a

sample research to represent the whole population, we are still confident to predict that the

parking lots have significant capacity but very low utilization.


Result

The results from the Franklin Falls, NH parking utilization observation are as expected.

Franklin Falls has a major issue with its parking utilization and this is clearly evident by just

walking around town day or night. In this observation, 10 parking lots were observed throughout

the town of Franklin, in regards to temporary and overnight parking. As seen in appendix B,

parking capacity has not been met in any of the designated parking lots that are labeled

alphabetically from A through J. Most of the parking lot capacities are underutilized by over

70%.

The major issues with the parking utilization are the strict parking regulations that city

council has put on residents and employees of local businesses. Most of the parking lots are

owned by the city and are not utilized to full potential. Residents and people visiting local

businesses get ticketed for parking frequently, and many have to park further away from their

destinations. These high capacity parking lots should be utilized at least 80% of their potential,

although ideally they would be utilized to maximum potential. Utilizing a better parking strategy

would allow for more local businesses to occupy vacant spaces, and would benefit Franklin as a

whole. Existing businesses would also benefit from this substantially, as more traffic would be

possible with more available parking. Instead of leaving these high capacity lots vacant, charging

residents a yearly parking fee to use city parking spaces instead of ticketing them for parking

illegally would also benefit Franklin, as it would become a regular source of revenue.

Recommendations

Franklin needs both short term and long term recommendations to improve the town. For

phase I, which is short term, we recommend to focus on implementation of direction signs,

raising citizen’s awareness about the importance of creating new sources to implement overnight


parking spaces in order to satisfy the demand of Franklin residents. For phase II, which is

strategy for 2 or 3 years, our team see the importance in boosting revenues to reinvest in new

services and maintenances. This can be done by installing parking meters along Main Street.

When the town of Franklin starts to thrive from local business and population booms,

there will be a need for increased housing to accommodate these factors. An ideal situation, 5 to

10 years from now, which is phase III when parking utilization reaches above 80%, would be for

Franklin to have a thriving economy and have accomplished people reside in this town. Franklin

could be an ideal town for people to live while working in a bigger city like Concord, NH.

Shuttle for commuters

For this to happen, the town of Franklin would benefit from investing in shuttle transit

vehicles that would transport local residence to their jobs in Concord. A company named Ride

Solutions connects the regions commuters to their job from their place of residence. If

Franklin’s economy is able to turn around in the next five to ten years then maybe they can prove

that they are a good town with affordable living, parking, conveniences and luxuries for

companies’ employees to make the move to live there. This would allow for a cheaper commute

day to day for employees and allow transit revenue for the town of Franklin. For a monthly fee

from the passenger, the upfront cost that the town of Franklin invested in for this service could

be met in just a few years.

Innovative Parking System

Donald Shoup is Distinguished Professor of Urban Planning at UCLA, where he has

served as Chair of the Department of Urban Planning and Director of the Institute of

Transportation Studies. He is author of the book “The High Cost of Free Parking” in which he

explains that improved parking policies encourage a more efficient use of parking facilities,


cities, economy, and the environment. Furthermore, D. Shoup recommends some key solutions

such as: charge fair market prices for on-street parking, use the meter revenue to finance added

public services in the metered neighborhoods, and remove off-street parking requirements.

Shoup believes that these solutions will improve parking conditions and support policy goals.

Based on the challenges that Todd faces, Team 5 believes that Donald Shoup can be a

valuable resource to contact in order to find innovative strategies to solve the parking problem in

Franklin, New Hampshire. Donald Shoup is currently living in California, and has a Facebook

fan page to reach out people and offer suggestions regarding different urban and transportation

problems. He is considered to be an expert in transportation and land use, he has conducted

several researches with were found to be relevant and useful to improve upon urban and

transportation issues. For instance, his research on employer-paid parking has led to the passage

of California’s parking cash out law. In addition to the modifications in the Internal Revenue

Code that promotes parking cash out. Another prominent example of his useful researches is the

investigation on Municipal Parking Policies that has let cities charge fair market prices for curb

parking.

Team 5 also suggest three main innovative strategies that should be implemented for a

long term parking solution for phase III:

1. Quick look at the dynamic demand management: it is based on the economic concept of

demand management which is accomplished by implementing dynamic parking pricing. In

other words, the price of parking goes up in the popular areas such as Main Street during

times of peak demand (holidays, parades, etc.) Meanwhile, in areas of less demand the cost

of parking goes down. As a result, people have the option to pay premium prices for most

popular parking sports, and at the same time, they have an incentive to pay cheaper price for


parking spots that are a few blocks away from their destination. This strategy helps to level

out the demand in the busiest areas resulting in meter revenue to finance added public

services for the town of Franklin.

2. Proving the concept: this is an easy idea to grasp, but to make it work, sophisticated

technology is needed. This strategy represents the vision that team 5 has for Franklin in 5 to

10 years from now. The parking system technology that will be implemented in Franklin,

will monitor demand in real-time, adjust pricing and help commuters find quickly an open

parking space.

3. Connecting commuters: Franklin has been always known for being a friendly small town, we

believe that the essence of Franklin should be kept it, but a new parking technology with

integrated value added solution for parking systems should be added. Moreover, with the

help from smartphones, GPS technology and that hard-working network of parking space

sensors will facilitate the connection among commuters by letting them know exactly which

spaces are available. The parking systems that are going to be implemented will also provide

turn by turn directions.

Also, team 5 has some suggestions regarding sophisticated parking systems to take into

consideration for a long term parking solution. The model we would like to present is

ParkingHelp, the main two things that drew our attention of this unique parking system are all

the features and facilities it brings to individuals.

ParkingHelp has the vision of working to overcome parking problems by developing

technology and solutions to improve mobility by making parking as convenient, quick and

efficient as possible. In Malaga, Spain, ParkingHelp has been successfully implemented, by

monitoring parking spaces and directing drivers to the free parking spaces.


We believe that Franklin can be the first town wide with parking spaces monitored in the

state of New Hampshire. Although, this is a long-term solution, we trust that Mr. Workman will

find more support to rejuvenate the town of Franklin and implement an advance technological

parking system. ParkingHelp and SmartGuide are two companies that dedicate to offer parking

solutions. Some of their useful features are:

- ParkSense: provides an overview of the occupation of parking spaces on given areas,

either indoors or outdoors. This technological parking system helps to find the best

parking space for the roads, public parking, retail and airports.

- SmartPark: daily forecast, comparison of real time data.

- ParkingPlans: indicate in real time the places available, busy, the parking time on

each position occupied, average time per parking space, etc.

Structured Parking - Underground Parking garage

Based on the vision we have for Franklin, there will be a time where the demand for

parking exceeds the capacity available. If you take a look at thriving towns as let’s say Hanover,

they have a parking structure. Once business increases and as well as the standard of living, more

residents will have cars and need somewhere to park and parking garages allow the largest

amount of space. Like any project there are risk that come along with it .One disadvantage is

temporary loss of parking due to construction. Another downside is that it cost a lot of money to

build and that you are expecting revenues for the city to keep increasing but if that does not

happen, you will incur a huge loss. The good thing about garages is that they only take 18-24

months to build. There are also different designs like above ground and underground garages

and to fit the potential sites for construction. Having parking permits for overnight parking in a


garage is also a great way to raise revenue for the city and reinvested in areas where money is

needed. An example of structured parking can be found in Appendix C.

Gated Parking As the city of Franklin continues to thrive more and more money will be brought to the

town. When more money comes, the need for security is going to need to intensify. As part of a

phase three recommendation we want to have a gated parking lot put in for certain upscale

apartments. The gated lot would be have a 24/7 camera as well as a security officer on duty at all

times. This will help eliminate potential theft or damages done and will also need to happen

when utilization of other parking spots are at a 100%.

Solar Panel Parking Not only focusing on making profit, we also consider the factor of sustainability.

According to a research conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 40% of United

States’ pavement is parking lots. The asphalt and concrete of that pavement absorb the sun’s

energy, retaining heat, making the cities much hotter than the surrounding areas. To solve the

problem, a technology has been developed, and it is solar carports. By covering parking lot with

solar panels, which are elevated above the ground so cars can park in the shade beneath, we are

able to cut down the heat, cool down the parked cars, and generate a lot of energy to power the

city. This technology is commonly used in California. Some of it also exists in New York, New

Jersey, and Massachusetts. According to GTM Research report on U.S. Solar Carport Market,

there will be an increasing in the implementation from 2016 to 2018 (Appendix D). We believe it

will increase further in 10 years. Franklin is a small town but we think this plan is reasonable.

Many parking spaces are relatively big and will have enough space to build solar carports. It may

be expensive for the implementation but the benefit we will get from the solar panels is notable

in long term.


Conclusion Obviously, these cannot be done in few months, or even years. However, they are worth

to consider for the benefits of the town in long term. Following these recommendations, the

result will be happier commuters, less wasted fuel and damage to the ozone and more efficient

use of costly infrastructure. The parking system will boost revenues, increase the dynamic

demand management and encourage individuals to visit Franklin.


References

Brown, T., & Suter, T. (2012). MR (Student ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Babin, B., & Harris, E. (2011). CB (Student ed., 2nd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage

Learning.

Shoup, D. (2005). The high cost of free parking. Chicago: Planners Press, American Planning

Association.

How To Solve Parking Space Problem In Big Cities. (2010, December 6). Retrieved April 1,

2015, from

http://visionwiz.net/2010/12/how-to-solve-parking-space-problem-in-big-cities

Solving the Big City Parking Problem. (2014, February 15). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from

http://www.realbusiness.com/2014/02/transportation/solving-the-big-city-parking-

problem/

Staff, P. (2015, January 1). Parking solutions for smart cities. Retrieved April 1, 2015, from

http://www.parkhelp.com/usa/parking-solutions-for-smart-cities/

Comprehensive Parking Study - The town of Davidson, NC. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2015, from

http://www.ci.davidson.nc.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/1737

Mooney, C. (n.d.). The best idea in a long time: Covering parking lots with solar panels.

Retrieved May 1, 2015, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-

environment/wp/2015/01/28/the-best- idea- in-a-long-time-covering-parking- lots-with-

solar-panels/

http://visionwiz.net/2010/12/how-to-solve-parking-space-problem-in-big-cities

http://www.realbusiness.com/2014/02/transportation/solving-the-big-city-parking-problem/

http://www.realbusiness.com/2014/02/transportation/solving-the-big-city-parking-problem/

http://www.parkhelp.com/usa/parking-solutions-for-smart-cities/

http://www.ci.davidson.nc.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/1737

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/01/28/the-best-idea-in-a-long-time-covering-parking-lots-with-solar-panels/




Appendices

Appendix A

Appendix B


Appendix C

Appendix D

comprehensive parking plan report

Education