LEGISLATIVE ANALYST REPORT

TO: Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors

FROM: Jesse Martinez

DATE: August 9, 2002

SUBJECT: Motorcycle Assessment/Methodology, File# 021142

SUMMARY OF REQUESTED ACTION

A motion (introduced by Supervisor Gonzalez) requesting the Office of the Legislative Analyst (OLA) to prepare a report analyzing methodology used to determine the number of motorcycles in San Francisco, both those registered in the City and elsewhere, and how other municipalities arrive at those counts.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Our office conducted an expedited and thorough analysis of how other jurisdictions¹ determine their number of registered motorcycles. We discovered that the majority of jurisdictions surveyed do not have written policies or procedures for determining the number of registered motorcycles. Nor do these jurisdictions have mechanisms for planning on-street motorcycle parking spaces. Instead, we found that they create motorcycle-parking spaces on an as needed basis. Typically, they are created at the request of residents and businesses. Cities such as San Jose and Montclair have having motorcycled designated spaces for off-street parking.

Utilizing the San Francisco Elections Department (SFED) redistricting data, including the zip codes, which overlap numerous, Supervisorial Districts, we identified Supervisorial Districts with the most number of DMV-registered motorcycles. According to this preliminary analysis, the bulk of motorcycle registrants indicated their addresses as being within District 2 (15%), District 5 (14%), and, District 7 (15%) (See Appendix III). Data from DPT indicates that the majority of motorcycle spaces are in Districts 3 and 6 (See Appendix IV).

BACKGROUND

Motorcycle related concerns are a topic confronting San Francisco for some time. The City has focused on this issue from time to time in a reactive manner and on various issues. The issues varied from `complaints from residents regarding problems caused by motorcycles,"² to special parking spaces for motorcycles.³ The process of identifying, assessing, and meeting the parking needs of the City"s motorcycle residents continues in various forms. A decade ago, issues of parking meter zones for motorcycle surfaced⁴ and are present today. Thus, data informing policy makers on the number and types of vehicles registered in the City is important in evaluating constituent concerns.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is the designated entity for the registration of vehicles allowed to operate within the State jurisdiction. However, the California Vehicle Code⁵ grants California municipalities the power to regulate parking programs within their respective jurisdictions.

Recently, there appears to be resurgence in the parking issue for motorcycles. Indeed, the data from DMV and San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic (DPT) reflects a rise of City total motor vehicle registration of 3% since July 1999. While, the motorcycle registration increase is slightly higher at 5%. The automobile registration increased by 3% during this period (see Appendix I). This implies a corresponding growth in use and demand for facilities, including parking.

CURRENT LAW AND PRACTICE

The California DMV is the designated entity to register a vehicle in California and shall keep a record of each vehicle registered.⁶ As noted above, the California Vehicle Code grants California municipalities the power to regulate parking programs within their jurisdictions.

Section 27 of the City"s Traffic Code contains the rules and regulations for governing special parking zones for motorcycles in San Francisco. This Section authorizes the Board of Supervisors, after traffic survey is conducted and a public hearing is held, to designate non-metered motorcycles spaces.

For metered parking, Section 219 of the San Francisco Traffic Code authorizes the Executive Director of DPT to designate metered motorcycle-parking spaces. According to DPT, these requests are typically initiated by business owners fronting the requested area and are routinely approved by the Director. These requests do not require Board of Supervisors approval.

Currently, no policy exists in San Francisco for determining the citywide number of registered motorcycles. However, the Legislative Analyst Office prepared an analysis for the benefit of the Board (See the Analysis Section of this report for details).

ANALYSIS

San Francisco

The San Francisco policy concerning motorcycle parking is to "promote uniformly efficient and safe use of streets for public street purposes."⁷ According to DPT, their "Motorcycle Parking, Petition for Designated Spaces," reflects the City"s policy on this issue:

· For pedestrians, motorcycles will be less likely to park on sidewalks.

· For motorists, motorcycles will be less likely to take on-street parking from automobiles.

· For motorcyclists, motorcycles will have a safer, legal place to park with less likelihood of damage from car bumpers.

· For property owners, motorcycle parking can help to frame the edge of a driveway and lessen the chance of driveway blockage from illegally parked cars.

Indeed, nationally there is a consensus that efforts to arrange for proper parking reflect proficient use of the streets and advance safe streets.⁸ These organizations believe that promoting motorcycle use and appropriating adequate parking is an environmentally-friendly means of transportation, and, an option for curbing traffic density and easing congestion in our towns and cities. The proponents of motorcycles believe that space-efficient vehicles that require less land use than other modes, and need less than a fifth of the space taken up by cars for parking, makes them more attractive in land-sparse cities.⁹

According to the DMV, in 1999, there were 15,453 motorcycles registered in San Francisco representing 4% of all motor vehicle registrations. By 2002 the number of motorcycles had increased by 734, which represents a 5% change. See Appendix I for a comparison of growth rates for motorcycles and automobiles in San Francisco.

The proportional shares, and hence demands for motorcycle parking, may be expected to be greater in neighborhoods where congestion may be acute. For example, and according to DMV, the City"s areas reflecting the bulk of motorcycle registrants are in zip codes: 94109, 94110, 94114, 94117, and, 94122 (See Appendix II).

Other jurisdictions

According to the various transportation associations¹⁰, few authorities base decisions on motorcycle parking on data that has been specifically collected on motorcycle movements. The most frequent reasons for providing parking are either opportunistic - where other works are planned - or in response to user demand.

Of all the municipalities surveyed, none had a process by which to track and count motorcycles within their jurisdiction. Summary of the survey is below. A more detailed description can be found in Appendix V.

CONCLUSION

Our research shows that the number of motorcycles is increasing faster than that of automobiles in the City. We also found that the Supervisorial Districts 2, 5, and 7 have the greatest number of motorcycle registrants in the City. However, according to DPT, the majority of motorcycle parking spaces (metered and unmetered) is in Districts 3 and 6.

In San Francisco, we cannot draw any conclusions about the distribution of motorcycle slots since we have no precise data reflecting definitive need and availability of these special spaces. Moreover, we discovered that other jurisdictions do not have procedures and policies for determining on-street motorcycle parking spaces. Instead, they allocate on an as needed or requested basis as in San Francisco.

Recommendations

· The Board may want to have DPT contract a field study of current number of motorcycles within the City by district and develop a working ratio of supply and demand for motorcycle parking spaces.

APPENDIX I

San Francisco Vehicle Registrations-1999 to 2002

(Source: California Department of Motor Vehicles and San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic)

APPENDIX II

APPENDIX III

APPENDIX IV

San Francisco Designated Motorcycle Parking-2002

Source: San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic, July 2001 and updated July 2002

APPENDIX V

BOSTON, MA

According to the Boston Transportation Commissioner"s Office, there is no process for designating motorcycle-parking spaces. The Commissioner stated that they "have been grappling with developing strategies for regulating motor cycles," but have yet to make any determinations. They believed that due to Boston"s harsh winter conditions, motorcycling is probably not as popular compared to cities with warmer climates, and therefore, not a pressing issue.

CHICAGO, IL

According to the Mayor"s Office and Planning Department, this motorcycle parking space matter is "an upcoming issue, and (they) plan to explore it."

CHULA VISTA, CA

According to the City"s Principal Planner, the City of Chula Vista currently does not have any program to identify the needs of the motorcycle community. They are however in the process of gathering information for a comprehensive update of their General Plan and are considering a process to track the number of motorcycles within the jurisdiction.

CORONA, CA

The City Manager"s stated that this is not an issue and that they do not "have designated spaces for motorcycles."

DIXON, CA

The City"s Senior Planner informed us that the City of Dixon currently has no process to determine the number of motorcycle and has no specific motorcycle parking standards. They are considered a vehicle within the standard parking stall. However, they have recently used motorcycle parking as an in lieu stall count for off street parking requirements while approving a multi-family complex. 

FRESNO, CA

The City of Fresno Transportation Manager informed us that they do not currently have a standard for providing special parking for motorcycles or "accounting for them." The manager felt that they do not have a significant number of motorcycles in town, and thus, have no specific requests from any group to provide special motorcycle parking.

GARDENA, CA

According to the City Administrator, their traffic and parking code require calculating parking for churches and their ancillary uses, such as parish/social hall, classrooms, and offices. However, there is no designated process for motorcycle parking.

GLENDORA, CA

The Planning Department informs us that he City of Glendora does not have any special parking regulations or design standards for motorcycles or motorcycle parking.

LOS ANGELES, CA

According to the Los Angeles Office of the City Administrative Officer, they do not count motorcycles as a separate category when undertaking any traffic or parking surveys.

MADERA, CA

The City Planning Director informs us that the City has no special provisions in its Code pertaining to motorcycle parking. The City does allow compact parking spaces in large commercial lots, and motorcycles may occupy those, as well as any other designated parking space. Riders are considered to be "customers just like automobile drivers, and can occupy any space required to meet the City"s on-site parking standards." The director indicated that the City has not experienced any problems or found the need to establish any special standards for motorcycles.

MONTCLAIR, CA

According to the City Planner, the only element they have related to motorcycles are planning rules requiring motorcycle parking in parking lots of various capacities. There are no standards or need for on street parking of motorcycles. The lot ratios are as follows:

Total # of parking stalls Required motorcycle parking

1-25 0

26-100 1 area (56 square feet)

Over 100 1 area for each additional 100 vehicle spaces or majority portion

For example, Target, Inc. recently completed construction of a new store in Montclair with 720+ parking spaces. They required them to do 392 square feet of motorcycle parking (or roughly the equivalent of just over two standard parking spaces).

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA

The City"s Principal Planner stated that they do not have specific motorcycle parking

requirements and therefore, no process for motorcycle parking.

However, they have commenced gathering background information to determine the need for change in automobile parking. This recent endeavor included field surveys of actual parking space use, information on vehicle sizes and turning radii (as well as data on number of vehicles of various sizes and types sold), and traffic volume data, and data from bicycle groups. They are also reviewing city policies and how they related to determinations of whether parking requirements should be "generous" or "tight" for community appearance, public convenience or other community objective reasons.

OAKLAND, CA

According to the City"s Parking Administration Office, they do not count motorcycles as a separate entity when reviewing traffic parking or traffic patterns.

PHILADELPHIA, PA

According to the City"s Mayor"s Office of Strategic Planning they have no on street motorcycle parking policy. The City considers an automobile as far as parking meters, and other parking regulations. Parking on sidewalks is dealt with on an ads hoc basis: if the abutting property owner shows no concerns and there is no undue disruption to pedestrian traffic, then motorcycle parking is condoned. Most motorcycle parking in center City is handled by off-street lots and garages, each of which has its own policies in that regard. According to the mayor"s Office, the bottom line is that motorcycle parking has never been perceived as an acute issue, and thus it "hasn"t garnered much attention."

In addition, according to the City"s Department of Streets Traffic Engineering no statistics on motorcycle use or parking is collected.

SAN DIEGO, CA

According to the San Diego City Manager"s Office and Department of Traffic Engineering (DTE), they have no procedure for determining number of motorcycles in the city. DTE has jurisdiction over on-street parking, and is part of the Transportation Dept., reporting to the City Manager.

As to motorcycle spaces on-street, they are handled them on a "request basis, installing some spaces where requested, if there is space available."

The City has no written guidelines or policies on motorcycle parking. As indicated by DTE, they have the discretion to modify on-street parking, like adding motorcycle parking. The unwritten procedure followed is to "receive a request from someone who wants it (with reason why they see the need), property owner concurrence, available space (particularly if a remnant of less than one normal parking space is available, which would be ideal to use this remnant), then we install it."

In addition, and according to DTE it is purely reactive, that is, anyone can request a motorcycle parking space from DTE. The request is automatically approved if there is space.

SAN JOSE, CA

The City"s Planning Office informed us that "do not have data on motorcycles in the

City and are not actively planning for this mode."The City Manager"s Office did state that they do have off-street and private parking ratios for motorcycle spaces.

SEATTLE, WA

According to the Senior Transportation Planner, Seattle Department of Transportation, the City of Seattle assigns on-street motorcycle parking similarly as they do other motorized vehicles. The City installs reserved motorcycle parking spaces where the abutting business caters to motorcycles and requests such parking. They also install parking in areas where they recognize a higher use of motorcycles exists (i.e., near universities).

RIVERSIDE, CA

The City manager stated that the City of Riverside does not designate any particular parking stall for motorcycles. They are allowed to park in any stall that any other vehicle can park. Nor do they inventory the number of motorcycles within the City"s jurisdiction.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA

The City Planning Director informed us that the City of San Luis Obispo has approximately 70 motorcycle meters out of a total inventory of 1500 meters in the downtown area. The City has had meters "for 50 years so the process has evolved over the years." According to the director, they have "no absolute formula for this process." The director indicated that they rely on users to request more meters at particular locations based on occupancy (75% or more) of existing or total lack of meters on a particular block. The configuration of off-site parking lots also dictates whether they would add spaces in odd size spaces or dead-end areas. Seasonal usage is also considered because "the spaces go empty in off-peak times." They also provide four motorcycle spaces adjacent to each of two parking garages because motorcycles are not allowed inside the garage. This is based on approximately 1 motorcycle space for each 100-car capacity in the garages.

SANTA MARIA, CA

According to the City"s Planning Division Director, the Parking Regulations for the City of Santa Maria "do not address motorcycle parking requirements." The City manager felt that "there are not a significant number of motorcycles within the City, so the lack of parking standards has not been a problem or an issue

TEMECULA, CA

According to the mayor"s Office, this is not an issue.

TRUCKEE, CA

According to the Community Development Director, "motorcycles are not a viable form of year round transportation, so they don"t allow any motorcycle spaces to count in the parking requirement."

² Monday April 1, 1974, file#19-74