Paid parking eyed for downtown
City seeks company to design, manage system
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » City officials said they are looking to address a problem — the lack of parking downtown — that has been an issue for residents and tourists for years.
The city recently issued a Request for Proposal “seeking a professional parking management company to study, design, implement and manage a paid parking system in downtown Saratoga Springs that will net the maximum financial benefit to the City balanced with downtown business vitality and efficient traffic management.”
The RFP, which can be found on the city’s website, says the bid “must demonstrate expertise and creativity in the parking management business to implement a successful paid parking program.”
Companies have until March 14 to submit proposals. The city plans to award the bid on April 17.
Michele Madigan, commissioner of finance, said Wednesday she doesn’t see it as a paid-parking project; rather, it is a parking management solution.
“[We’re going to] have a company come in here, evaluate our streets, evaluate the logistics of the community, evaluate the locations of all of our different parking garages, and offer us some technology that’s get people into our city, around our city and
parked smoothly,” said Madigan. “It’s an efficiency.”
The RFP provides a map of the city, highlighting the approximate boundary of on-street paid parking, which stretches from Congress Park to the Saratoga Springs City Center.
Currently, the city has three parking decks, six parking lots and public on-street parking. According to the RFP, there are about 1,300 spaces of public on-street parking and 1,480 public off-street parking spaces. In the request, the city seeks to improve its parking opportunities “by leveraging new technologies and creative solutions” by moving Saratoga forward as a Smart City “with technologies such as Smart Parking to optimize parking, reduce traffic and create a more enjoyable experience for city residents and visitors.”
Madigan believes the city, with a four-week RFP, could receive some really good responses that might bring “really interesting” and “very cutting edge” parking solutions.
The RFP provides a schedule for companies to follow in preparing proposals, which includes a kickoff meeting between April 18-20 at City Hall, a 10-day period at the end of April to access the city’s needs and gather feedback and a completed parking study to be done between May 1 and July 30.
Currently, the city anticipates a final report to be submitted as well as a presentation at the City Council meeting Aug. 7. Install could begin between Aug. 14 and Sept. 14.
“I want to be known as the community that’s easy to get into, get around and get out when it’s time to go home,” said Madigan.