Pricing Principles & Strategies
The BDA arrived at a set of principles to help guide any future implementation of the special curbside permits and paid public parking programs. These principles were drafted to find the middle ground in the debate between the stakeholder who were in support and others who had voiced concerns. See the matrix below for list of identified pros and cons.
Principles for a Curb Pricing Framework:
- Locations matter where pricing components are applied. Permitted uses need to make sense regarding the built environment and surrounding businesses.
- Paid parking should not deter people from visiting places via vehicle but rather incentivize more visits because the program is producing a higher parking turnover rate.
Pros and Cons of a Curb Pricing Framework
The points listed below were identified by BDA members when discussing the merits and impacts of a Curb Pricing Framework. These points helped informed the two principles to guide decision-making.
Pros:
- Provide a revenue source to support curb improvements and enforcement
- An effective demand management tool
- Increases the parking turnover rate
- Improves the value of parking garages with free parking
- Use to optimize peak period uses
Cons:
- Goes against Downtown Bellevue’s legacy of free public parking
- Turn away customers who don’t like to pay for parking
- Dedicated permit areas challenge existing compacity capacity constraints in areas with competing curb uses
- Service providers (delivery) would have issues with dedicated curb zones and associated prices
- Equity issue of how and where pricing is applied