Large events like the Sundance film Festival have tested the limits of Park City’s parking system and it’s residents’ patience. Park City Public Works Director Blake Fonnesbeck said the demand-based parking system that will have a soft start next summer - will fluctuate in price as the demand for parking rise and fall.
“What this basically will be is for different time periods, those peak periods, the prices for parking could be higher and times when there is less demand they could be lower than they are at this point in time,” Fonnesbeck said.
The city hired a consultant to develop a plan uses a variety of parking prices – and those who work in the Old Town area – will have a choice of how much they’re willing to pay for parking.
“There will be kind of a mix of premium parking, value parking and then remote parking," Fonnesbeck said. "So employees will have a choice and will have a choice depending on what they want to pay. But if a 9 to 5 worker was working five days a week and parked in value parking – they would pay around an annual cost of $120 and that – when you think of the pass – right now at China Bridge they pay $150 for a year. So there are opportunities there for people to make choices so they can actually make it cheaper.”
Fonnesbeck said that if those same employees choose not to make any changes – the annual price for parking could go up to about $200.
“So when you are in a busy time like peak weekends, Friday and Saturday nights – the price would be more - the higher prices during that time," Fonnesbeck said. "And so at that time we hope that - we’re going to put opportunities out there for employees to find remote parking with very quick transit so they at least have that option to use that system and not have to park during that time which would free up more room for customers.”
Fonnesbeck said the premium parking will be on Main St. and the covered section of the China Bridge parking lot as well as the flagpole lot. Value parking would be the uncovered section of China Bridge and along Park Ave. The remote parking will be located on the upper and lower Sand Ridge lots.
A new app has been developed to assist people with the new parking system that Fonnesbeck said is loaded with capabilities.
“So there would be options there," Fonnesbeck said. "There will also be way-finding. There will be an app that can tell you before you go to Main St. that you say, ‘Hey, there’s only 25 spaces parking spaces in Old Town – I better go to one of these remote lots,’ and it will have those on the app. So there are going to be a lot of opportunity for people to make choices.”
Because of the complexity of the app and other programs the city is working on – Fonnesbeck said the new demand-based parking system won’t be implemented this winter.
“At the same time we’re trying to launch that at about the same time as our bus rapid transit route that we’re getting with our electric buses," Fonnesbeck said. "That will be coming from Kimball-Junction at 10 minute frequencies so we’re trying to time those things at about the same time so that people have options.”
Fonnesbeck said they’ll be making all of the information available to the public as soon as it’s ready to launch.