HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 13748
City of Palo Alto (ID # 13748)
City Council Staff Report
Meeting Date: 11/29/2021
City of Palo Alto Page 1
Title: Approval of Amendment Number 2 to Contract Number C19173514
With SP Plus to Add Two Years to the Term for the Valet Parking Program for
University Avenue and California Avenue Parking Facilities
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Transportation Department
Recommended
Staff recommends that the City Council approve Amendment Two to Contract C19173514 with
SP Plus for valet parking services to extend the contract term from March 1, 2022 to February
29, 2024 with no additional costs or changes in scope (Attachment A).
Background
In early 2014, Staff began significant efforts to address the City’s parking and traffic challenges,
particularly in the Downtown core, through a multi-pronged approach. The strategy includes
projects to increase parking supply and availability (parking supply measures), improving how
existing parking facilities are utilized and controlled (parking management strategies), and
projects to reduce overall traffic demand and encouraging alternatives to driving
(transportation demand management strategies). One component of this strategy is more
efficient usage of existing parking capacity, and valet-assist parking is one part of this program.
On October 4, 2018, a Request for Proposals (RFP) was released for services including the
implementation, support, and related services of a Parking Ambassador Program to continue
and enhance the customer experience for valet parking in City parking garages.
In addition to the regular public posting of the RFP available to 414 vendors, the following
companies that specialize in parking valet services were directly contacted and provided
information about the opportunity to submit a bid for this RFP:
• SP Plus
• ProPark
• Ace Parking
• California Parking
• Serco, Inc.
• Douglas Parking
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Based on the single proposal, staff selected SP Plus (and City Council approved on April 1, 2019;
SR # 9751) for the commencement of contract negotiations, which were completed on March
4, 2019.
On April 22, 2019, the City’s Public Works Department began construction for the new parking
garage, reducing the number of available public parking spaces in the California Avenue
Commercial District. Business owners and operators in the California Avenue area expressed
concern about that loss of parking and requested additional mitigations. Some California
Avenue merchants have indicated that their business is down as much as 20% since garage
construction impacts began in late January 2019. In March 2019, staff learned that the
merchants were surprised that valet service was provided to the University Avenue business
district, but none was proposed for the California Avenue area. Therefore, staff initiated an
expansion of the Downtown Valet Parking Program to include temporary valet service at Lot C-
6, increasing supply by roughly 40 vehicles. Expansion of the valet program to 258 Sherman Ave
(Lot C-6) occurred concurrently with construction closures, with options to expand to additional
California Avenue parking facilities if/as-needed based on occupancy.
Amendment Number One (approved by City Council on October 21, 2019; SR # 10620) added
additional funding and expanded services as a temporary program during the peak hours of
11:00 am to 3:00 pm, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Additional valet service can
be canceled at any time and was to conclude upon the completion of the new parking garage.
However, on March 17, 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Santa Clara County
implemented a shelter-in-place order, limiting travel for non-essential workers region-wide.
Simultaneously, the Office of Transportation suspended all valet operations up to current day.
As the City returns to pre-COVID traffic patterns, staff predicts higher parking demand in the
Spring of 2022.
The prolonged 2020-2021 impacts of the COVID pandemic led to significant reduction in
services on SP Plus’s scope of work. This current report brings forward a contract amendment
to continue services outlined in the agreement. Amendment Number Two adds an additional
two years to the terms of the contract due to the lack of services during the pandemic. Staff
expects to deploy valet services at garages and lots as needed, when parking demand is high
and parking availability is constrained. If this extention is not approved, the City will not have
support to offer valet services to meet parking needs as the City recovers from the impacts of
the pandemic.
Timeline
Staff implemented the valet parking programs in the spring of 2019 and this contract
amendment continues this service through February 29, 2024.
Resource Impact
This amendment will require no additional appropriation of funds as the amendment only
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extends the term of the contract to February 2024, from a three to a five-year contract, without
changes to the contract scope or contract amount.
Funding for the contract was included as part of the FY 2022 Adopted Operating Budget.
Services will be provided to various parking districts in Palo Alto; therefore, the costs are
proportionally split between the University Avenue Parking Permit Fund, California Avenue
Parking Permit Fund, and Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) Program Funds.
Policy Implications
The valet-assist program is consistent with current Comprehensive Plan Goals, Policies, and
Programs:
• Goal T-8: Attractive, Convenient Public and Private Parking Facilities
• Policy T-45: Provide sufficient parking in the University Avenue/Downtown and
California Ave business districts to address long-range needs.
• Policy T-47: Protect residential areas from the parking impacts of nearby business
districts.
• Program T-49: Implement a comprehensive program of parking supply and demand
management strategies for Downtown Palo Alto.
• Program T-52: Evaluation options to ensure maximum use of the City parking structures
in the University Avenue/Downtown and California Avenue areas.
Stakeholder Engagement
The recommended contract extension supports the City’s ability to respond to parking
pressures in commercial districts with valet service, to support local retailers and other
businesses when and where parking demand is high.
Environmental Review
The proposed action would implement operational changes at existing garages and is
categorically exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under
Class One (CEQA Guidelines Section 15301, Existing Facilities) and because it can be seen with
certainty that the proposed action to incrementally increase garage capacity via operational
changes could not have a significant effect on the environment (CEQA Guidelines Section
15061(b)(3), the “general rule”).
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