Report Prepared by: Scott McBride, City Manager
Title
SUBJECT: Downtown Parking Discussion
REPORT IN BRIEF
Provide direction to staff regarding Downtown Parking including but not limited to directing this to a Standing City Council Subcommittee, creating an Ad Hoc City Council Subcommittee, or referring back to staff for placement on a future Council meeting.
RECOMMENDATION
City Council to provide direction to staff regarding the appropriate forum for future discussions concerning Downtown Parking.
Body
ALTERNATIVES
1. Refer back to staff; or,
2. Direct this item to a Standing City Council Subcommittee or create an Ad Hoc City Council Subcommittee; or,
3. Continue item to a future Council meeting (date and time to be specified in City Council motion).
DISCUSSION
At the City Council meeting of October 5, 2026, Council Member Harris requested that a discussion about downtown parking be placed on a future Council meeting. Mayor Serratto had previously requested that staff provide an update on W 18th Street including the potential conversion to allow additional parking through the creation of diagonal parking stalls.
Staff is seeking guidance on the ability to combine these topics into one or if the Council prefers discussing the topics separately. Staff is also requesting direction on how to proceed with this topic. Some options include referring to a Standing City Council Subcommittee, creating an Ad Hoc City Council Subcommittee, or referring to staff for placement on a future Council agenda.
For background, the city has established a parking authority with assets in the central core or Downtown Merced. These include several public parking lots and two parking structures. In addition to these off-street parking options there are also street parking spaces within the public right of way which are managed and maintained by the city.
Downtown Merced is experiencing a renaissance sparked by the redevelopment of the El Capitan Hotel, Tioga Apartments and Mainzer Theater. Vacant buildings and tenant spaces are now occupied by thriving businesses such as Lover’s Deli, Una Mas, UC Merced Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) Center. The Bob Hart Square expansion has solidified the park as the City’s community center for events and festivals. All this has taken place with minor expansion of the parking supply in Downtown Merced.
The Downtown Parking Management Strategy was adopted in 1992. The mission statement for downtown parking is “Downtown Merced’s first priority is to welcome customers with abundant, convenient free parking; and secondly, downtown will strive to meet the parking needs of employers and employees.” As Downtown Merced continues to be revitalized, customer/employee conflict has become an issue. With limited exceptions, parking in Downtown Merced is predominantly not timed.
Business constituents and the public rely on parking in the Downtown Area for special events, normal daily business, commerce, personal services, and entertainment. Depending on the specific reason for using the parking there may be different issues or concerns. For example, business owners have approached staff and council members to discuss enforcement of timed parking both on street parking and off-street or parking lots. Another issue raised is how do we encourage that street parking is for customers vs. business employees. The need for more short-term dedicated stalls for delivery or other quick needs directly in front of specific businesses has also been raised.
Public parking can be a very complex issue. In the past the city hired TJKM to conduct a Downtown Merced Parking Demand Analysis. International Parking Design was contracted to assess potentially adding new levels to existing parking structures and constructing new structures on existing off-street parking lots. Acquiring additional private property for the purpose of converting to off street parking has been done in the past. Other topics like leasing parking or cooperative agreements with property owners with off-street parking have been discussed. Finally, the use of meters has also been a topic of prior discussion.
The City has successfully converted two-way traffic to one-way, which has created more street parking on W. Main Street. This aligns with the Mayor’s interest to look at 18th St. This type of parking has proven to be a low-cost option to create more spaces.
IMPACT ON CITY RESOURCES
None at this time.