ADVISORY COMMISSION ON DISABILITIES AGENDA ITEM
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Consider the existing ADA parking in downtown and conduct a group activity to make recommendations for potential modifications.
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DEPARTMENT: Transportation, Engineering and Development
SUBMITTED BY: Peter Zibble, Operations Manager
BOARD/COMMISSION REVIEW:
N/A
BACKGROUND:
The topic of downtown accessible parking has been discussed by the ACD over the past year. There is has been concern voiced over the distribution of these spaces and the distances between ADA parking spaces and key destinations in the downtown.
The following is a summary of the data collected and discussed at previous meetings and other information applicable to the exercise:
Number of Spaces Provided:
• There are currently a total of 46 ADA compliant parking spaces in the four downtown parking decks. There are 26 ADA compliant parking spaces disbursed through six downtown surface lots. There are 5 additional ADA compliant spaces in the library parking lot. This is a total of 77 public ADA spaces.
• There are currently 5 on-street ADA reserved spaces. These spaces are reserved for those with ADA placards or license plates, but may not meet all of the geometric requirements to be considered ADA compliant.
Number of Spaces Required:
• Based on the distribution and total number of parking spaces in the parking garages and decks (2627), the Illinois Accessibility Code requires 65 spaces, including the library.
• There are currently no legal requirements for providing on-street ADA parking spaces. If the Illinois Accessibility Code requirements for a large parking area were to be applied, 2% of the total spaces would need to be ADA compliant. There are 432 on-street spaces, so if the IAC rule were applicable, 9 spaces would need to be provided.
ADA Parking Space Requirements:
• ADA spaces must consist of an 8-foot-wide vehicle area and an 8-foot-wide adjacent striped access aisle. For perpendicular parking spaces, a shared access aisle is permitted between two spaces. For diagonal (angle) parking, an access aisle is required for each space and must be located on the passenger side.
• The access aisle must adjoin an accessible pedestrian route.
• No portion of the parking space or access aisle may exceed 1:48 slope.
• The parking spaces must have a minimum vertical clearance of 98 inches.
• All parking spaces must be designated with a permanently mounted sign.
Occupancy Data:
• City staff performs a physical occupancy count each month during a mid-week afternoon to help determine typical parking demand. ADA spaces are counted separately. The percentage of spaces occupied for each count in 2019 is as follows:
|
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Non-ADA |
70% |
60% |
63% |
73% |
85% |
79% |
77% |
54% |
75% |
78% |
71% |
75% |
ADA |
29% |
21% |
19% |
24% |
46% |
39% |
26% |
40% |
25% |
28% |
27% |
15% |
• City staff has historically performed a physical occupancy count during a busy summer weekend to determine peak occupancies. The last count was completed in 2015. The percentage of spaces occupied for each hour of the day is as follows:
|
Friday |
|
12:00 |
1:00 |
2:00 |
3:00 |
4:00 |
5:00 |
6:00 |
7:00 |
8:00 |
9:00 |
10:00 |
Non-ADA |
87% |
88% |
85% |
79% |
73% |
74% |
84% |
92% |
95% |
87% |
87% |
ADA |
45% |
45% |
30% |
20% |
18% |
32% |
25% |
36% |
41% |
27% |
45% |
|
Saturday |
|
12:00 |
1:00 |
2:00 |
3:00 |
4:00 |
5:00 |
6:00 |
7:00 |
8:00 |
9:00 |
10:00 |
Non-ADA |
66% |
73% |
71% |
68% |
65% |
65% |
73% |
90% |
91% |
85% |
66% |
ADA |
45% |
59% |
45% |
34% |
25% |
34% |
45% |
45% |
45% |
39% |
45% |
DISCUSSION:
To address the commission’s concerns about the number and distribution of ADA parking spaces in the downtown and how well they meet the needs of the community, the following process is recommended:
1. Have the ACD review the existing parking situation through a group activity to discuss and propose locations for additional ADA spaces.
2. Submit the proposal to the city’s Engineering and Transportation teams for review and comment. These professionals can verify the conditions of the proposed locations and make recommendations as appropriate.
3. Conduct a public hearing at the May 6, 2020 ACD meeting to present the proposal and solicit input from various stakeholder groups. A notice would be published and invitations would be sent to all boards/commission/task forces (i.e. Downtown Advisory Commission, Accessible Community Task Force, Senior Task Force, Transportation Advisory Board) and other stakeholder groups such as the Naperville Development Partnership, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Downtown Naperville Alliance.
4. All comments will be compiled and distributed to the ACD members for consideration. The commission will be asked to discuss the comments at their August 5, 2020 meeting and finalize a recommendation.
5. The recommendation would be submitted to the City Council for consideration. Any changes to the ADA parking configuration will need to be approved by ordinance by the City Council.