Metropolitan Transportation Commission Grant

Effective parking management is essential to ensuring the smooth flow of traffic and creating a safe and welcoming environment for both residents and visitors. Recognizing the importance of parking management, the City of Napa took an important step towards improving its parking infrastructure by securing a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) totalling $315,000, specifically earmarked for parking improvements.

The grant application stemmed from the Community Development Department's recognition of room for improvement in terms of parking policy, municipal codes and operational efficiency. Faced with two grant options - a Planning Grant and an Implementation Grant - the City elected to opt for the Planning grant, recognizing a greater opportunity for community improvements. The Planning Grant provides an opportunity to direct outside funding to creating a more sustainable and efficient parking operation, which is an important factor in quality of life for both residents and visitors.

"It's rare to see grants specifically focused on parking, so we jumped at the opportunity," said Tony Valdez, Parking Programs Manager for the City of Napa's Community Development Department.

An initial parking plan was developed and presented to the City Council, ultimately prompting a strategic pivot. While the City Council upheld a majority of the initial plan, the Council expressed reservations about charging a fee for time-limited parking spaces. This spurred a revised version of the parking plan which emphasized the following objectives:

1. Improved Parking Space Turnover: The City intends to implement new parking codes to improve parking space turnover, reducing congestion and improving operational efficiency.
2. Enhanced Parking Permit Program: Recognizing the importance of an effective parking permit system, the City will enhance the existing permit program to improve the permitted parking experience for residents and businesses.
3. Increased Community Outreach: The City aims to develop a more collaborative approach to parking management by increasing outreach regarding parking policies and expanding opportunities for community feedback and engagement.
4. Improved Parking Enforcement Operations: As the City implements new parking policies, it will work to improve the effectiveness of enforcement to ensure proper compliance, while prioritizing the efficient allocation of resources towards parking enforcement.
5. Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Policies: TDM policies are designed to encourage travelers to maximize the efficiency of transportation systems. TDM policies place an emphasis on decreasing congestion, minimizing single occupancy vehicle trips, reducing vehicular carbon emissions and generally improving efficiency in vehicular transportation.

By leveraging the MTC grant, the City of Napa is able to advance infrastructure, outreach and technology that will help the City achieve its parking management objectives. The multi-faceted parking plan outlined above will be an important step as the City aims to create a more efficient, equitable and efficient parking operation to enhance safety and quality of life for the Napa community.