At the September 27, 2022, Study Session, Mayor and Council provided direction to Park Tucson staff to initiate outreach with stakeholders regarding hourly metered parking hours and days.
Park Tucson conducted on-street parking occupancy counts which showed a consistent lack of on-street parking availability after 5:00pm and on weekends.
Several different extended parking meter hours scenarios were presented and discussed with the Park Tucson Commission. Some of the options broke down areas into specific districts and assigned varying meter enforcement end times, however the Park Tucson Commission believed that a simple approach is best. The Park Tucson Commission selected the option of Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
After evaluating comments received from public meetings and the online survey, the Park Tucson Commission supported a modified recommendation by the Department of Transportation and Mobility to extend parking meter hours to Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
A significant share of the on-street parking occupancy in the Downtown area, 4th Avenue, and Main Gate Square occurs in the evenings and weekends when the on-street parking is free. The result is that employees park in convenient spaces intended for customers, and with no time limits or cost to park, there is relatively little turnover. Full (occupied) on-street parking areas force those looking for available free parking to drive around looking for it.
Tucson Curb Management Study
The Tucson Curb Framework Plan is a guiding document for Park Tucson’s parking management approach. The Tucson Curb Framework Plan is a strategic evaluation of allocating curb space in Tucson, Arizona. This Framework applies industry standards and defined metrics to allocating curb space and determining the trade-offs between various curb uses. As the curb ecosystem in Tucson continues to evolve, this Framework should be used to develop a curb environment that provides equitable access for all.
To enhance the curb’s ability to accommodate the diverse needs of pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, and motorists, it’s important to effectively manage the curb. For curb lanes that provide metered or managed on-street parking, a key metric of curb lane efficiency is parking turnover. Metered parking places a value for time spent at the curb. On-street parking is a critical resource for supporting retailers and other businesses. It is usually the most convenient parking option for retail customers and employees. Metered parking also supports parking turnover by allowing parkers to use on-street parking, track their parking duration, and leave when their session has expired. Managed parking spaces regulate the time, duration, and user groups that can access on-street parking. This helps to prevent vehicles from using limited curb space for their long-term parking needs.
The Tucson Curb Framework Plan provides a curb utilization target range of 75%-85% for on-street metered parking occupancy. The City’s metered occupancy after 5:00pm and on Saturdays exceeds this target occupancy range. Extending the metered parking hours will assist in achieving the desired target occupancy range, thus providing opportunities for more users to share the curb.
Relative to similar/peer cities in Arizona and the region, Tucson is the largest city (by population) that does not do one of the following: charge for on-street parking in its Downtown after 5:00pm or charge on Saturdays.
Peer City Comparison:
- Arizona University Cities:
- Tempe: Monday to Friday, 8am to 10pm; Saturday, 11am to 10pm
- Flagstaff: Sunday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm; Friday to Saturday, 9am to 8pm
- Phoenix, Arizona: Monday to Sunday, 8am to 10pm
- Las Vegas, Nevada: Monday to Sunday, 8am to 8pm
- Albuquerque, New Mexico: Monday to Saturday, 7am to 6pm
- El Paso, Texas:
-
- Downtown: Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6pm
- Uptown: Monday to Saturday, 8am to 3am
- Colorado Springs, Colorado: Monday to Saturday, 7am to 10pm; Sunday, 1pm to 10pm