In Nov. 2016, then-Mayor Kip Holden’s administration announced it had selected a team of three firms to modernize and manage downtown’s public parking system. But, nearly one year later, none of the upgrades and improvements—which include the installation of smart meters on downtown streets and automated systems in three city-owned garages—has happened, at least not yet.
City administrators, including Director of Transportation and Drainage Fred Raiford and Finance Director Marsha Hanlon, say the behind schedule project is still very much in the works, claiming the change in administration, in part, caused the delay. But negotiating the contract to manage the new system and reworking related city ordinances have also slowed the process.
“There were a lot of pieces to this and it was a lot more complicated than we anticipated,” says Hanlon, whose office is overseeing the contractual negotiations. “We had ordinances that had to be changed and there were just a lot of moving parts. But we’re hoping now for a full deployment of Jan. 1.”
At that point, Hanlon says she hopes to have a contract finalized and executed with the management firm—Atlanta-based Lanier Parking Solutions. She also hopes by that time to have brought before the Metro Council ordinances that would increase the rate of downtown parking meters and the fines for violating them.
Also by January, Raiford’s department should be done with the public bid process to select a company that will provide and install the new smart meters. The 200 smart meters are budgeted to cost around $1 million but are expected to save the city-parish money in the long run because of better collection and enforcement.
The plan to overhaul public parking downtown dates back to 2014, when a study by AECOM recommended several improvements to the system, which has been criticized as inefficient, outmoded and insufficient to meet demand. In 2016, the Metro Council spent $100,000 hiring Fregonese Associates, which refined the plan and drafted the RFP to select the consulting team.
In November, the roughly $650,000 contract was awarded to Lanier and Associates, which is partnering with SMG Worldwide Entertainment and Convention Center Management, which manages the River Center; and, The Aaron Group, an Atlanta-based Disadvantaged Business Enterprise that specializes in educational outreach.
The two River Center garages are among the three city-owned garages that will be upgraded and managed by Lanier.
As envisioned, the new parking system will produce greater turnover at city parking meters, thereby freeing up more spaces, while directing more motorists to the two River Center garages, which will be more user friendly.
—Stephanie Riegel
