MANAGERS MEMORANDUM /

COUNCIL WORK REQUEST REPORT

Prepared for: Naperville City Council
By: City Managers Office
04/07/2016

A. MANAGER'S MEMORANDUM
1.

Source: TED

Subject: Downtown Parking Background

Action: FYI

2.

Source: TED

Subject: Upcoming Night Work on

Washington Street

Action: FYI

B. COUNCIL WORK REQUEST REPORT

CITY OF NAPERVILLE
MEMORANDUM
DATE:

April 7, 2016

TO:

Doug Krieger, City Manager

William J. Novack, Director of TED Business Group

FROM:

Jennifer Louden, Deputy Director of TED Business Group

SUBJECT:

Downtown Parking Background

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the Mayor and City Council with background
information regarding downtown parking in advance of receiving the 2015 Continuous
Improvement Model for Downtown Parking report.
INFORMATION:
Adequate and appropriately located parking is critical to the success of downtown Naperville.
Both public and private parking are available within the downtown. The City of Naperville
maintains and manages the public parking supply. City Council establishes policy related to
downtown parking, with the Downtown Advisory Commission providing input and
recommendations related to parking supply and the Transportation Advisory Board providing
input and recommendations related to parking management. The Downtown Naperville Alliance
(DNA) is included in all matters related to downtown parking.
Downtown Parking Supply
Downtown Naperville currently offers a total of 3,498 parking spaces, including all public and
private spaces. The following table summarizes the current supply:
Parking Type
Total
Public
Private
Off-Street
On-Street

Spaces
3,498
2,626
872
3,007
491

Continuous Improvement Model for Downtown Parking

The downtown parking supply is monitored through the Continuous Improvement Model for
Downtown Parking (CIM). Since parking is such a costly asset, the Downtown Plan
Implementation Committee (now Downtown Advisory Commission) recognized the benefit of
building a model to provide a solid basis for policy decisions to address long-term parking needs
in the downtown, as well as to determine the impacts of parking management strategies. In order
to achieve those goals, the Continuous Improvement Model for Downtown Parking (CIM) was
developed.

Downtown Parking Background

April 7, 2016
Page 2 of 3

The CIM has been conducted regularly since 2001 and consists of three components:
Existing parking supply and occupancy data for downtown parking;
Customer satisfaction data for downtown parking; and
Assessment of the parking impacts of future development/redevelopment.
Downtown Parking Management
As previously noted, the City of Naperville maintains and manages the public downtown parking
supply. The Transportation, Engineering and Development (TED) Business Group provides
oversight of downtown parking with assistance from the Finance Department and the
Department of Public Works. The Police Department conducts all enforcement activities.
A combination of parking types and regulations are required in order for the available parking
supply to meet the varying needs of the downtowns users. On-street parking is intended to
serve short-term trips for retail and business visitors. Most on-street spaces are two-hour
parking, with some designated as shorter-term loading zones with various time limits. The
parking lots and decks are intended to accommodate longer visits to the downtown. Most offstreet spaces are three-hour parking, with all-day parking available within the upper level of the
decks. Downtown employees may park without time restriction in designated areas of the
parking decks by obtaining and displaying a Central Business District (CBD) employee hang tag.
Downtown Parking Management Study
During 2008 the City of Naperville, in coordination with the DNA, initiated the Downtown
Parking Management Study (DPMS). Prepared by a parking consultant, the purpose of the
DPMS was to evaluate the management of the downtown parking supply and identify
opportunities to improve parking management practices and ensure the most efficient use of the
parking supply. The study found that the mix of parking types within the downtown was
appropriate and recommended a number of opportunities relative to marketing, signage and
enforcement. Many of the recommendations have since been implemented, such as the
installation of the Parking Guidance System at the Van Buren and Central parking facilities.
Parking Supply Expansion
As the downtown has grown and redeveloped, structured parking has been built to consolidate
and add to the downtown parking supply. The largest expansions to the parking supply have
occurred through the construction of parking decks. The Central Parking Facility opened in
1987 and added over 550 spaces to downtown. The Van Buren Parking Facility opened in 2001,
adding approximately 530 spaces and bringing the total downtown parking supply to just over
3,450 spaces. The Van Buren addition was completed in 2008, adding over 250 spaces.
Downtown Parking Site Feasibility Study
Through the 2004 Continuous Improvement Model, decreasing customer satisfaction levels were
noted and staff identified the need to conduct a study of financing options and site feasibilities
for a future parking deck in the downtown. As a result, the Downtown Parking Site Feasibility
Study was initiated in 2005. The scope of the feasibility study included the conceptual review of
nine sites within the downtown, further study of three sites and a review of financing options.
The recommendations from the study were presented to City Council during a Downtown
Parking Workshop on November 29, 2005.

Downtown Parking Background

April 7, 2016
Page 3 of 3

During the 2005 workshop City Council endorsed a deck at the Nichols Library and
reconstruction of the Central Parking Facility as the first and second parking expansion projects,
and directed staff to continue to work with the developers on a structure south of the river to
meet the demands of new development in that area. Since that time, development of a parking
deck on each site has reached varying stages. The City hired a consultant to develop design
plans and construction documents for a 500-plus space deck at the Nichols Library site during
2006. Due to escalating construction cost estimates and resident concerns, the consultant was
directed to halt plan preparation during spring 2008 and their contract was closed in 2009.
Based on the recommendations of the 2012 CIM, work began on the reconstruction and
expansion of the Central Parking Facility during 2014. Initial land acquisition activities,
including surveys and appraisals, were completed; however, no further acquisition efforts were
made. Selection of a design consultant was also started, but no contract was awarded. The
Water Street District Parking Facility is currently the only active parking expansion project. The
520-space deck will open this fall, meeting the needs of the new development within the Water
Street District.
Parking Financing
Parking within downtown Naperville has been free to visitors since 1976 when Special Service
Area (SSA) #1 was created to provide for downtown parking operations and maintenance and the
construction of future parking facilities. The parking expansion projects that have occurred since
then have been funded through a number of mechanisms.
Special Service Areas
The Central Parking Facility costs were shared by the City, which provided one-third of the
funding, and the downtown property owners, who provided the remaining two-thirds of the
funding. SSA #8 was established to fund the property owners share of the costs associated with
the deck. The Van Buren Parking Facility costs were shared evenly by the City and downtown
property owners. SSA #21 was established in 2000 to provide a financing mechanism for the
property owners fifty-percent share of the cost to design and construct the facility. SSA #21
will expire in 2020.
Downtown Food and Beverage Tax
Established in 2008, the Downtown Food and Beverage Tax provides a funding source for the
construction and maintenance of parking facilities within the downtown. Initially set at 1.5%,
the rate was modified to 1.0% on January 1, 2016. The taxes collected are deposited into the
Downtown Parking Fund, which is currently being used to repay the debt service associated with
the Citys share of the construction costs for the Van Buren Parking Facility and was also
recently used to fund the Citys share of construction costs for the Water Street District Parking
Facility.
RECOMMENDATION:
Please share this information with the Mayor and City Council through the April 7, 2016
Managers Memorandum.

CITY OF NAPERVILLE
MEMORANDUM
DATE:

April 7, 2016

TO:

Doug Krieger, City Manager

Bill Novack, Director of TED Business Group

FROM:

Andy Hynes, Deputy City Engineer

SUBJECT:

Upcoming Night Work on Washington Street

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this memorandum is to inform the City Council of upcoming night work on
Washington Street through the downtown area.
BACKGROUND:
CIP Project TC217 (Centralized Traffic Management System) is a two phase project that involves
software and communication enhancements to the traffic signal systems on the Washington Street
Corridor. Once the initial phase is complete, the new system will provide new monitoring and
notification capabilities that should improve traffic flow along the corridor. The second part of
the project involves implementation of adaptive traffic signal programming which will allow the
system to make operational adjustments based on real-time traffic conditions.
Implementation of the work associated with the initial phase of the project is currently in progress.
The Contractor is preparing to begin the installation of the new communication cable that will run
the length of the corridor.
Completion of this initial phase of the project is expected during the summer of 2016.
Implementation of adaptive traffic signal operations (phase two) is expected during the summer of
2017.
DISCUSSION:
In order to minimize disruption in the downtown area and increase productivity, the Contractor
will be installing the new communication cable at night through the downtown area (Benton
Avenue to Hillside Road). The work will occur between 2:00 AM and 5:30 AM during the week
of April 18th and will require a lane closure. Two-way traffic on Washington Street will be
maintained at all times. The Contractor expects that the duration of this work will be 2 to 3 days
depending upon the weather and unforeseen construction conditions.
The Downtown Naperville Alliance has been notified of this upcoming work.
RECOMMENDATION:
Please share this information with the Mayor and City Council through the April 7, 2016
Managers Memorandum.