http://www.presidio.gov/about/Administr ... 131004.pdfpage 20 of 104 talks about parking
PARKING
Parking: Not a Significant Effect Under NEPA
The Trust does not consider a lack of parking supply to be a significant environmental impact under the NEPA. As a result of parking shortfalls, individuals who would prefer to drive may use alternate means of transportation because the perceived convenience of driving is lessened by a shortage of parking. This shortage is not considered significant because it implements Trust transportation demand management policies intended to reduce park-wide traffic congestion, and air quality, noise and safety impacts caused by congestion. The Trust, however, does acknowledge that parking conditions are of interest to the public and decisionmakers, and therefore provides the following parking analysis for informational purposes only.
The parking lot on the south and west sides of the Mason Street Warehouses is being designed and constructed as part of the Presidio Parkway reconstruction project. The Trust intends to charge parking fees after the lot is constructed to discourage automobile use and promote more sustainable means of travel. Trust planning efforts implementing the PTMP are geared toward limiting parking supply to the extent possible without impeding the Trust’s ability to attract tenants to reuse historic buildings, and designing parking facilities to accommodate average rather than peak demand.8 Preliminary design plans indicate the parking lot would have approximately 213 parking spaces.
Parking at East Beach (Area A) can accommodate 370 cars. Paved parking is available for 211 cars and unpaved parking is sufficient for 159 cars (NPS 2009). The unpaved area is used for overflow parking when demand for parking is high, such as during special events and on weekends. Parking demand varies depending on the day of week, time of day, and season. On most days, parking demand at East Beach is well under capacity but is practically at capacity (90 percent utilized) during peak season weekends (NPS et.al. 2012).
During peak event days, the NPS and the Trust currently implement several measures identified in their respective transportation demand management (TDM) programs that result in more efficient use of the parking spaces provided. These measures include providing and encouraging alternate means of transportation, such as public transit (including the PresidiGo Shuttle), bicycling, walking and carpools, providing for satellite parking facilities, and requiring valet service. The General Management Plan Amendment (GMPA) (NPS 1994) also calls for fees and time limitations, which have been used elsewhere within Area A to manage
8 PTMP, Parking Management, page 51. 26 Sports Basement
parking.9 However, parking at East Beach remains unrestricted (i.e., no time restrictions and free).
Would the parking demand associated with the relocated Sports Basement be accommodated within the proposed supply?
The parking demand associated with Sports Basement customers and employees would generally be accommodated within the parking supply by the new lot and on-street stalls. Based on surveys of Sports Basement in its current location where parking is currently free and unregulated, Sports Basement is expected to have a weekday (average) demand of approximately 125 parking spaces and a weekend (peak) demand of approximately 185 parking spaces, which would be adequately accommodated within the total supply of 213 spaces in the proposed parking lot. However, since parking management (fees) would be used to discourage single-occupant automobile use by Sports Basement employees and customers and to encourage transportation alternatives, it is possible that some drivers may seek currently unmanaged parking at East Beach. Any spillover could be limited by implementation of a parkwide approach to discouraging automobile use and promoting more sustainable means of travel as identified in the following excerpted PTMP EIS and GMPA EIS mitigation measures:
TR-21 Presidio-Wide Parking Management. In order to reduce impacts of fee parking in Area B on parts of the Presidio outside the Trust’s jurisdiction (Area A), the NPS is encouraged to implement parking regulations, time-limits and/or parking fees in potentially affected parking areas under its administration (notably, Crissy Field). The
9 GMPA, Parking Management, page 48. Environmental Assessment 27
Trust would provide assistance to the NPS to ensure coordination and consistency of parking management within both Areas A and B…10
Parking Fee Support of Transit Services. The Park Service would consider implementing parking fees in certain areas to further discourage automobile use and to offset the costs to provide transit services…11
Should the NPS choose not to adopt or enforce either of these measures, visitors arriving to East Beach during peak weekends could have difficulty parking.
Despite readily available measures that would allow parking supply to be more efficiently utilized during event days, the NPS to date has been reluctant to consider parking restrictions at East Beach.
Cultural and Education Center/Offices
The parking demand associated with this alternative would be approximately 167 spaces on weekdays and 63 spaces on weekends. Thus, the proposed parking lot would be able to accommodate the PTMP alternative’s parking demand.
Conclusion
The proposed parking lot to the south and west of the Mason Street Warehouses would have adequate capacity to accommodate parking demand from either the proposed action or the PTMP alternative. TDM strategies including parking management in Area B would encourage the use of alternative modes and minimize parking demand. Implementing parking management strategies in Area A as encouraged in the PTMP EIS and outlined in the GMPA EIS would mitigate the potential effect on parking conditions in Area A.
10 PTMP EIS, Parking, page 326.
11 GMPA EIS, Traffic and Transportation Systems, page 27. 28 Sports