On October 15, 2018 DESMAN, Inc. made a presentation to the City Council to address the Parking Study, specifically at the Ocean Mall and in the Marina District. On October 30, 2018 DESMAN, Inc. submitted the City of Riviera Beach Parking Recommendations.

DESMAN recommends the implementation of a Paid Parking System at Ocean Mall and the Marina District as a means to:

1. Manage parking demand to address the needs of both daily and short-term parkers at both the Ocean Mall and the Marina District; and
2. Create a revenue source to pay for the equipment, operation and enforcement costs of the Paid Parking System.

Parking Management

1. The City should establish an Enterprise Fund to manage the revenue and expenses associated with the Paid Parking System; and
2. The City should retain a Private Parking Operator to manage the parking, including enforcement, at both Ocean Mall and the Marina District. This should be done early in the process so that the City and Operator can work together in refining the parking equipment and operations.

Parking Meters/Technology

1. Multi-space meters, referred to  as Pay Stations, are recommended. We recommend “solar powered” pay stations that are either “pay-by-space” or “pay-by-plate”; neither technology requires the parker to return to their car. Pay-by-space requires each parking space to be numbered. The user inputs their space number, duration of parking and pays the amount in the meter display. The parker keeps the receipt as proof of payment. Use of pay-by-space technology would require the improvement of the dirt/grass lots so that curb stops can be used delineating and numbering individual spaces. Pay-by-plate works similarly, only that the license plate is entered rather than the parking space; and
2. The City should also implement “pay-by-phone” technology which is compatible with both pay station technologies. Pay-by-phone allows the parker to pay online, using a smartphone app, and avoid the pay stations.

Initial Rate Structure and Operations

1. Based on other municipalities, the initial rate should be $2.00 per hour for short-term parking and $8.00 per day for daily parking (over 3 hours in duration);The City should provide the first 20 minutes (or more) as free parking as a courtesy to customers. Other discounted programs can be implemented, such as a residential permit or validation for private businesses. Validations would be via a receipt shown by the customer at a participating business granting a discount towards a purchase. Discounts and validations can work a number of different ways and would be refinements to the base Paid Parking System; 
2. Paid parking is recommended to be enforced 7 days-a-week, except from 7PM until 2AM when free parking could be offered to help support the dining/entertainment businesses; 
3. Parking fines for non-payment of meters should be set at about 15 times the hourly rate charged or $30.00, based on the proposed hourly rate; and 
4. Parking signage should be installed at both Ocean Mall and the Marina District to alert parkers to the fact that payment is required and directing parkers to pay for their parking at one of the pay stations or by phone.
5. The following includes specific recommendations for the Ocean Mall and the Marina District areas.

Ocean Mall Paid Parking Recommendations

1. Install approximately ten (10) solar powered pay stations in the Ocean Mall lots, including five (5) multi-space meters along Ocean Avenue and five (5) meters along the Service Road (see Figure 2). Approximate capital costs for this solution would be $8,000 per unit ($80,000), installed, plus supporting software and refinements to the base system. 
2. Hire a Professional Parking Operator – In order for the recommended Paid Parking System to be effective, there must be a person on-site throughout the day who is authorized to issue citations to those parkers who do not pay for their parking time. 
3. Install Parking Signage – In order to alert parkers to the fact that payment is required in the Ocean Mall lots, signage will need to be installed throughout the lots directing parkers to pay for their parking at the multi-space meters. 
4. Monitor the Ocean Mall West Lot – parking use of the Ocean Mall West Lot should be monitored following implementation of the pay stations at Ocean Mall to determine if there is a significant shift of all-day parkers seeking to avoid paying for parking. If a shift in parking does occur, then appropriate actions should be taken to modify the parking restrictions or to introduce paid parking in the Ocean Mall West Lot. The following steps should be taken: 1) Determine the number of spaces necessary to support the adjacent land uses; 2) Reserve those spaces by placing signs indicating 1-hour parking; 3) Enforce parking restrictions. Parking use should be monitored over a winter season and if all-day parkers are using the parking lot, then the City should install a pay station for the non-reserved parking. The City should consider a pay-by-space system in this lot to help differentiate the reserve spaces from the all-day spaces.

Marina District Paid Parking Recommendations

1. Install approximately six (6) solar powered pay stations in the Marina Districts lots as shown in Figure 3. Approximate capital costs for this solution would be $8,000 per unit ($48,000), installed, plus supporting software and refinements to the base system. If pay-by-space technology is used, then the dirt/grass lots would need to be improved to the extent individual spaces can be delineated and numbered using curb stops. 
2. Hire a Professional Parking Operator – In order for the recommended Paid Parking System to be effective, there must be a person on-site throughout the day who is authorized to issue citations to those parkers who do not pay for their parking time. 
3. Install Parking Signage – In order to alert parkers to the fact that payment is required in the Marina District lots, signage will need to be installed throughout the lots directing parkers to pay for their parking at the multi-space meters.