Requests for proposals from firms interested in managing public parking in downtown Baton Rouge—both on the street and in the city-owned garages—are due Sept. 26. That’s more than a month later than the original Aug. 19 due date. The process was extended because of the August flood, according to consultant John Fregonese, whose firm, Fregonese Associates, is implementing a new downtown parking strategy.
Still, Fregonese hopes to have the management firm in place by October. Shortly thereafter the city-parish will put out a call for bids from companies interested in installing new smart parking meters that will replace the existing coin-operated ones.
“We’re ready to call for bids for the meters but it hasn’t gone out yet because they’re waiting to hire the management firm to get its input,” Fregonese says.
The two-step process is part of a larger overhaul of downtown’s public parking system, which has been criticized as inefficient, outmoded and insufficient to meet demand. Early this year, the Metro Council approved a $100,000 contract for Fregonese Associates to implement the new strategy, which expands on a 2014 study conducted by engineering company AECOM.
The management contract is expected to cost around $650,000 a year, and will include both management of the new smart meters on the street and of the two River Center garages and the basement-level garages beneath City Hall.
The contract to install the meters is expected to cost around $1 million, a one-time cost. But Fregonese says other markets that have switched to smart-meter systems have saved money in the long run because of better collection and enforcement.
Separately, the city-parish is working on a professional services contract to hire a firm to study renovating the two River Center garages and expanding the River Center East garage. The size of that contract is unknown and the city-parish has not solicited proposals or requests for qualifications.
Baton Rouge has about 1,800 public parking spaces downtown—not counting the 1,000 spaces at the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino and Hotel—and another 2,700 private parking spaces. Of those 1,800 public spaces, 970 are on the street and 540 are metered.
—Stephanie Riegel
