Table of Contents

PARKING
STUDY
Town Center & John’s Pass Village
Redevelopment Areas
Madeira Beach, Florida
PARKING STUDY
TOWN CENTER AND JOHN’S PASS VILLAGE
REDEVELOPMENT AREAS
For Madeira Beach, Florida
Madeira Beach City Commission
Mayor Tom De Cesare
Commissioner Roger Koske
Commissioner Charles Parker
Commissioner Leonard Piotti
Commissioner John Wolbert
Madeira Beach Staff
Michael Maxemow, Interim City Manager
Paulette E. Cohen, Community Development Director
Prepared by the Pinellas Planning Council
June 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I.
Executive Summary .........................................................................................1
II. Background.......................................................................................................5
A. Existing Conditions.......................................................................................5
B. Parking Concerns .......................................................................................10
C. Parking Study Goals and Methods .............................................................11
III. Methodology ...................................................................................................13
A. Existing Parking Need Calculations ...........................................................13
B. Future Parking Need Calculations..............................................................15
C. Applying the Methodology to the Redevelopment Areas..........................16
IV. Town Center ...................................................................................................17
A. Existing Parking Need ................................................................................17
B. Future Parking Need ...................................................................................26
C. Other Factors Influencing Parking in the Town Center .............................26
D. Summary ....................................................................................................29
V. John’s Pass Village.........................................................................................31
A. Existing Parking Need.................................................................................31
B. Future Parking Need....................................................................................36
C. Other Factors Influencing Parking in John’s Pass Village ........................37
D. Summary ....................................................................................................38
VI. “Master Plan for Madeira Beach” ..............................................................39
VII. Recommendations ..........................................................................................43
A. Addressing Existing Need ..........................................................................43
B. Addressing Future Need..............................................................................47
VIII. Resources.......................................................................................................49
i
LIST OF MAPS, TABLES AND FIGURES
Map 1: Town Center Study Area .........................................................................7
Map 2: John’s Pass Village Study Area................................................................9
Map 3: Town Center Existing Parking Areas (North) ......................................... 19
Map 4: Town Center Existing Parking Areas (South) ......................................... 21
Map 5: John’s Pass Village Existing Parking Areas ............................................ 32
Table 1: Existing Parking Demand Generation Rates.......................................... 14
Table 2: Standard and Maximum Floor Area Ratios (FAR)................................. 15
Table 3: Town Center Existing Parking Supply .................................................. 17
Table 4: Town Center Estimated Parking Demand for Existing Uses................... 23
Table 5: Town Center Future Parking Supply and Demand ................................. 26
Table 6: John’s Pass Village Existing Parking Supply ........................................ 31
Table 7: John’s Pass Village Estimated Parking Demand for Existing Uses ......... 35
Table 8: John’s Pass Village Future Parking Supply and Demand ....................... 37
Table 9: Additional Parking Spaces Needed to Meet Existing Demand................ 43
Table 10: Additional Parking Spaces Needed to Projected Future Demand .......... 47
Figure 1: Madeira Beach City Hall ......................................................................6
Figure 2: Hubbard’s Marina in John’s Pass Village ..............................................8
Figure 3: Existing Need Calculation Methodology ............................................. 14
Figure 4: Public Parking Lot at City Hall ........................................................... 18
Figure 5: On-Street Parking Along Madeira Way ............................................... 18
Figure 6: Underutilized Parking Lot at Shopping Center..................................... 24
Figure 7: Delivery Truck Blocking Parking Spaces ............................................ 24
Figure 8: Underutilized Parking Lot With Restrictive Signage ............................ 25
Figure 9: Example of Inconsistent Signage in Private Parking Lots ..................... 25
Figure 10: Madeira Way.................................................................................... 27
Figure 11: Intersection of Gulf Boulevard and Tom Stuart Causeway.................. 28
Figure 12: City Parking Lot on West Side of Gulf Boulevard.............................. 33
Figure 13: Walkway Under Bridge .................................................................... 33
Figure 14: Public Parking on East Side of Gulf Boulevard .................................. 34
Figure 15: Parking Deck and Private Parking Spaces at Hubbard’s Marina.......... 34
ii
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City staff, realtors, and business owners in Madeira Beach have expressed concern that
insufficient parking is hindering the area’s economic development. Lack of convenient
parking and parking shortages, whether real or perceived, can discourage visitors and
potential business customers, causing them to travel to other communities along Gulf
Boulevard, possibly reduce the time of their stay, or not return for another visit. At the
same time, city land development code standards that require businesses to provide onsite parking can become an impediment to attracting new businesses or allowing existing
businesses to expand. Because the city is almost built out, most new businesses are either
reusing an existing building or redeveloping a site. Potential developers are often
deterred by the challenge of providing on-site parking in compliance with city codes on
relatively small commercial parcels and, due to the high land values in Madeira Beach,
purchasing additional property for parking is usually not an economically viable option
for redevelopment.
As part of its broad initiatives to sustain the city’s economy while improving the quality
of life for residents, the City of Madeira Beach requested the Pinellas Planning Council
staff to conduct a parking study for two of the city’s focal points: Town Center and
John’s Pass Village. This follows several previous city initiatives to address parking
concerns, particularly the recent upgrades to the public parking in John’s Pass Village
and revisions to the parking standards in the city’s land development regulations. The
study determined the actual parking needs for uses within these two areas and
recommends ways in which the City might address them.
As part of the study, PPC staff reviewed existing documents and regulations related to
provision of parking spaces within both study areas. Staff then inventoried existing
parking facilities and general usage patterns, and spoke with business owners and
employees to get their personal insights on parking issues in the districts. This
information was used to assess existing demands for parking facilities and to project the
future demands redevelopment may generate within each study area. The methodology
used for the study is detailed in Section III.
In the Town Center area, the study found there is a surplus of parking for the existing
uses of land. However, many of these spaces are not convenient or are located too far
from the uses that are generating most of the need for parking. Other parking areas are
not clearly visible or not easily accessible by pedestrians. In addition, most of the parking
spaces in the Town Center are marked with inconsistent signage as to who can park there
and for how long. All of these conditions add up to create the public perception of a
parking problem in the Town Center. If they are not addressed as redevelopment occurs,
these problems will be exacerbated by the additional development projected and its
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Parking Study
associated increase in demand for parking within the district: development at the
maximum intensity allowed by the City’s Comprehensive Plan would generate a need for
an additional 1,013 parking spaces in the Town Center (74% above the existing number
of spaces). A complete description of the findings and the analysis of the parking
concerns in the Town Center district are described in Section IV.
The study found that an additional 385 spaces are needed to serve the existing uses in
John’s Pass Village (39% above the existing number of spaces). If new development or
redevelopment occurs at the typical countywide floor area ratio, the existing parking
facilities, along with the proposed parking garage at Hubbard’s Marina, will meet the
projected future needs. However, if development occurs at the maximum floor area ratio
permitted by the City’s Comprehensive Plan, the study shows there will be a deficit of
688 parking spaces in John’s Pass Village (69% above the existing number of spaces).
The complete analysis of parking conditions and projections for John’s Pass Village is
presented in Section V.
Section VI of the study considers the potential impact on parking needs as a result of
redevelopment according to the “Master Plan for Madeira Beach.” As a whole, the plan is
intended to increase pedestrian access and decrease reliance on the automobile in the
City, which would decrease the demand for parking. However, if certain proposals of the
plan are considered on an individual basis, they have the potential to increase parking
needs within the study areas. These potential impacts should be taken into consideration
when designing the implementation strategies for the Master Plan. Furthermore,
initiatives to address parking concerns that result from this parking study should be
closely coordinated with policies implementing the Master Plan to ensure that the actions
complement each other.
Recommendations made in Section VII identify various means by which the public and
private sectors can address the parking needs identified within the study areas. Since the
opportunities to construct additional parking facilities are extremely limited, other, more
creative, initiatives should be taken. The recommendations to address existing parking
demands fall generally into three categories:
(1) Protecting and, where possible, increasing the number of available parking
spaces;
(2) Maximizing utilization of existing parking facilities; and
(3) Reducing the overall demand for parking.
Even though there is no cumulative need for additional parking in the Town Center at this
time, steps should be taken to improve access to the available parking supply because it is
not evenly disbursed throughout the area, which should result in reducing the perception
of a parking problem. In John’s Pass Village, where there is an actual parking deficit but
very little opportunity for new surface parking, efforts should focus on converting
2
Executive Summary
existing parking lots into multi-level parking structures and on reducing the overall
demand. Many of the public and private efforts underway in John’s Pass Village – valet
parking, shared parking arrangements, pedestrian-oriented urban design – have been
successful in mitigating the deficit there, and should be applied to the Town Center as it
continues to develop.
Redevelopment of the districts should be viewed as an opportunity to consciously
restructure Madeira Beach’s urban fabric in a manner that is attractive, safe, efficient, and
economically sustainable. Recommendations to help the City ensure that sufficient
parking, properly designed, is included in future development include:
• Requiring all redevelopment to provide parking at the ratios prescribed by the land
development regulations, unless specific codified criteria designed to mitigate the
impact are met;
• Converting dead-end streets and/or unimproved rights-of-way that are not
essential for circulation into parking spaces;
• Specifying the conditions for shared use agreements, the City’s review and
approval process, and how these are to be administered and recorded;
• Providing incentives for redevelopment in exchange for constructing public
parking facilities in excess of the minimum number of parking spaces (e.g.,
flexibility in height restrictions, fee reductions, etc.);
• Requiring that redevelopment coordinate with the streetscape plans for the
district’s corridors to increase pedestrian activity; and
• Developing public properties with one or more multi-level parking structures.
Amending the land development regulations and establishing clear guidelines for future
development patterns now will ensure that future development does not cause parking
shortages that would hinder the City’s economic development or diminish its character.
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4
II. BACKGROUND
A. Existing Conditions
The City of Madeira Beach incorporated in 1947 and then re-incorporated in 1951. This
small city of 562 acres between the Gulf of Mexico and Boca Ciega Bay is home to about
4,500 permanent residents1, but during winter tourist season the population grows to
include an additional 3,4502 visitors. According to the 2000 US Census, seasonal
residents use 28% of the city’s almost 4,000 housing units. Historically, these tourists and
the small businesses they support have guided the urban pattern and economic
development of the city, which now has almost no vacant land. As the city built up and
land became more scarce, property values increased accordingly. In 2000, the median
owner-occupied home value was $171,000, 77% higher than the median home value in
Pinellas County.
Madeira Beach’s tourist-based economy includes businesses such as small independent
motels, condominium vacation rentals, restaurants, small shops, and water-dependent
uses (e.g., marinas and boat or jet-ski rentals). During peak times, these businesses
attract local visitors who are just staying for the day, as well as weekly and monthly
vacationers from out of town.
This report looks specifically at the City’s two anchors along Gulf Boulevard: the Town
Center (Map 1) and the John’s Pass Village area (Map 2). Two major roadways define
the Town Center: 1) Tom Stuart Causeway/150th Street, which is the entrance to the city
from the mainland; and 2) Gulf Boulevard, which parallels the beachfront and connects
the city to its neighboring barrier island communities to the north and south.
Approximately 52 acres in size, the Town Center includes all of the city’s civic buildings:
City Hall, the Gulf Beaches Public Library, the post office, and a recreation complex.
Other uses within the Town Center include marinas, restaurants, nightclubs, a grocery
store, small retail shops, and offices. Motels, condominiums and single-family homes
surround the Town Center, serving both seasonal and permanent residents.
While the Town Center provides for residents’ neighborhood and civic needs, John’s
Pass Village is a primary attraction for tourists. Located on the northern shore of John’s
Pass Channel and mainly on the eastern side of Gulf Boulevard, this 14-acre pedestrianfriendly shopping and entertainment center contains restaurants, shops, and docks for
charter boats. A casino cruise ship also docks along the boardwalk. Local residents keep
John’s Pass Village busy on weekends throughout the year, but it attracts a much larger
crowd of visitors during the winter tourist season.
1
2
Census 2000 Summary File, US Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
Florida Statistical Abstract 2002, University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research
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Parking Study
Figure 1: Madeira Beach City Hall
6
Background
Map 1: Town Center Parking Study Area
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Parking Study
Figure 2: Hubbard’s Marina in John’s Pass Village
8
Background
Map 2: John’s Pass Village Parking Study Area
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Parking Study
B. Parking Concerns
City staff, realtors, and business owners in Madeira Beach have concerns that insufficient
parking is hindering the area’s economic development. Lack of convenient parking and
parking shortages, whether real or perceived, can discourage visitors and potential
business customers, causing them to travel to other communities along Gulf Boulevard,
possibly reduce the time of their stay, or not return for another visit.
At the same time, city land development code standards that require businesses to provide
on-site parking can become an impediment to attracting new businesses or allowing
existing businesses to expand. Because the city is almost built out, most new businesses
are either reusing an existing building or redeveloping a site. Potential developers are
often deterred by the challenge of providing on-site parking in compliance with city
codes on relatively small commercial parcels and due to the high land values in Madeira
Beach, purchasing additional property for parking is usually not an economically viable
option for redevelopment.
A series of variances granted in 2003 by the Madeira Beach Board of Adjustments
(BOA) presents evidence of this problem. Excessive requests for variances often indicate
that current codes need review, or signify a trend in the market, such as an increase in
restaurant seating or retail space. Variances can get to a point where they are treating a
symptom unless real changes are made to correct the problem. The BOA has granted
numerous requests for variances to the City’s parking requirements for new businesses
moving into existing storefronts. Many of these variances relied, at least in part, on a
finite number of public parking spaces.
Recognizing this trend in July 2003, the BOA adopted Resolution 03.01, requesting that
the City Commission issue a priority directive to City staff and the Planning Commission
to thoroughly review Article VII (Off-Street Parking and Loading) of the Madeira Beach
Land Development Regulations, and request staff to amend the regulations as necessary.
The BOA’s resolution pointed out that the amended parking requirements must be fair
and equitable and take into account that Madeira Beach is a built-out tourist-based City
that provides a large number of public parking spaces for public and private use.
Many of these variances for new businesses or expanded existing businesses were
granted on the premise that nearby parking is available in public lots. The problem with
this is that these spaces get “double-counted” when multiple businesses receive variances
relying on the same public parking spaces, potentially resulting in an actual deficit.
The city staff review of the parking regulations resulted in Ordinance 959, adopted on
October 14, 2003. With this ordinance, the City reduced the number of parking spaces
required on-site for certain uses “to allow for greater use of commercial properties,”
increase flexibility, and reduce the need for variances. These changes are a balanced
10
Background
approach to the city’s parking concerns in that they no longer require excessive parking
based on a generalized standard that is directed towards stand-alone uses (as opposed to
downtown areas or dense, mixed-us areas such as the two study areas), but still expect
businesses to provide sufficient on-site parking for their employees and customers.
However, residents, business owners, and city staff have identified a variety of parking
problems that the land development code amendments did not address, including existing
shortages, inconvenient parking locations, access limitations, and confusing use
regulations.
C. Parking Study Goals and Methods
To address these parking concerns, City staff requested that the Pinellas Planning
Council, in accordance with an Interlocal Agreement for planning services, prepare a
parking study to:
• Identify existing parking insufficiencies;
• Determine future parking needs; and
• Identify public and private actions that could reduce the discrepancies while
ensuring that parking requirements are not hindering the city’s redevelopment.
To accomplish these goals, PPC staff reviewed existing documents and regulations
related to the provision of parking spaces within both study areas:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The city’s land development regulations;
The city’s comprehensive plan policies;
The Master Plan for Madeira Beach;
Requests for variances to city parking requirements within the districts;
Occupational licenses;
The Florida Department of Transportation’s plans for the new John’s Pass Bridge;
Prior studies and plans related to parking in the City (for example, the 1999 John’s
Pass Village Reconstruction Master Plan by Smith & Gillespie Engineers, Inc.);
and
• Existing demographic and economic data.
Staff then conducted an on-site inventory of existing parking facilities, and noted use
restrictions or limitations on their use, such as ownership (public vs. private), fees/meters,
lengths of time parking is permitted, times/days when parking is allowed, etc. Staff also
observed general parking usage patterns and spoke with business owners and employees
to get their insights on parking issues on these visits.
The information from the documents and field research were then compiled to assess the
existing parking supply, as well as the existing demands for parking facilities. Future
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Parking Study
demands within each study area were also estimated. The methodology for making these
calculations is described in Section III; the analysis of the supply-and-demand study is
detailed in Sections IV (Town Center) and V (John’s Pass Village).
Recommendations presented in Section VII include various options to alleviate the unmet
needs identified by the study. Potential actions identified for consideration during
preliminary investigations included:
• Locations for additional city owned or operated parking facilities;
• Increasing access to underutilized parking facilities, both public and private, by
such methods as off-site employee parking or changes to city parking fee
policies;
• Instituting shared use agreements;
• Allowing payment in lieu of providing spaces;
• Tracking use of the “pool” of available parking spaces by specific businesses;
• Applying demand management techniques, including increasing available nonautomotive modes of transportation within the study area; and
• Initiating amendments to the City’s land development regulations.
In addition, other potential policies and capital improvements were identified during the
course of the study.
As the study was being conducted, the Planning Commission and City Commission
considered several amendments to its comprehensive plan that would change the pattern
and intensity of future development in the study areas. The new policies, implementing
recommendations of the “Master Plan for Madeira Beach,” proposed higher
densities/intensities and a different mix of land uses than the adopted comprehensive
plan, and thus would result in a different projection of future parking needs. Because
these important decisions needed to be made before the study could be completed, the
study’s finalization was delayed for several months. In March 2004, the City Commission
took preliminary action to approve a revised version of the amendments originally
proposed. These proposals, and the other recommendations of the Master Plan that could
affect future parking needs, are discussed in Section VI.
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III. METHODOLOGY
The following describes the methodology used to determine the existing and future
parking needs within the Town Center (Map 1) and John’s Pass Village (Map 2). City
staff defined the specific boundaries for these study areas to include the businesses and
other uses that generate demands for parking, as well as public parking lots. Residences
and motels that have sufficient parking lots were excluded from the study areas.
A. Existing Parking Need Calculations
1. Existing Parking Supply
The total number of existing parking spaces plus those under construction is
considered to be the existing parking supply. To determine this total, PPC staff
conducted field research during peak tourist season from October 2003 through
March 2004, in the Town Center and John’s Pass Village. During the visits to both
study areas, staff noted:
• The number of parking spaces (standard and handicapped-accessible)
delineated in each parking lot and the number of on-street parking spaces;
• Whether the spaces are publicly or privately maintained and/or owned;
• Which businesses or uses are served by the parking spaces;
• Any fees associated with the parking spaces;
• Any time limits on occupying the spaces;
• Conflicts between delivery and customer parking or other
orientation/design issues affecting access; and
• Whether parking was readily available or if the lot and/or street parking
was full.
To get a sense of how the area’s parking patterns fluctuate throughout the week
and from day to night, the visits were conducted at various times on weekdays and
weekends, days and evenings. The specific days and times were chosen to get an
understanding of the different peak times for the range of existing businesses and
entertainment/tourist-oriented uses within the districts.
Staff also collected data on the parking facilities under construction within the area
for the Causeway Park and Leatherbacks Restaurant in Town Center as well as
several developments underway in John’s Pass Village. These spaces were
counted in the total supply of existing parking spaces. Projects that are proposed
but not yet under construction were not included in the existing parking supply.
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Parking Study
2. Existing Parking Demand
Existing parking demand was calculated by multiplying (a) the square feet of the
existing building(s) (and those under construction) within each study area by (b)
the number of parking spaces required by Madeira Beach’s land development
code, as amended in October 2003. The specific parking ratios for uses in the
study areas are provided below in Table 1. Information related to parking demand,
such as the number of employees in a business or the number of seats in a
restaurant, were determined by examining information from occupational licenses
and through field research.
Table 1
Existing Parking Demand Generation Rates
Land Use
Parking Spaces
3 per 2000 square feet
Retail
1 per 4 seats
Restaurant
3 per 1000 square feet
Service/Office
0.5 per boat slip
Marina
Commercial Recreation 3 per 2000 square feet
Source: City of Madeira Beach Code of Ordinances, amended 2003
3. Existing Demand – Existing Supply = Existing Need
As shown in Figure 3, the existing demand minus the existing supply equals the
area’s need for additional parking. Sections IV (Town Center) and V (John’s Pass
Village) present the results of the calculations and put the numbers into context
with the locations of the unmet need and other conditions that could be affecting
the actual use of the parking spaces.
Figure 3: Existing Need Calculation Methodology
14
EXISTING
PARKING
DEMAND
EXISTING
PARKING
SUPPLY
Existing building
square footage
compared with
city’s parking
generation rates
Count of existing
spaces and
those under
construction
EXISTING NEED
Number of
parking spaces
that are still
needed to meet
existing demand
Methodology
B. Future Parking Need Calculations
1. Future Parking Supply
For the purpose of this study, it was assumed that existing public parking lots and
on-street parking spaces would remain in their current configuration, as would
private parking lots unless redeveloped. Therefore, the future parking supply in
each study area was determined to be the existing parking supply plus the number
of parking spaces submitted to the City for future development but not yet under
construction. For example, the parking garage that is planned for Hubbard’s
Marina was included in the future parking supply, but not in the existing parking
supply because although plans have been submitted to the City, final approval has
not been granted. The additional spaces the garage would provide are not available
to meet existing demands, but for purposes of the study are presumed to be
available in the future.
2. Future Parking Demand
For each study area, a range of possible future buildout conditions was established.
The first buildout scenario (referred to as “standard” throughout the study) applies
the countywide standard building floor area ratio (FAR) for the future land use
category assigned to the lots in the study area. This is the typical FAR built within
each future land use category throughout the county. Due to the intense real estate
development pressures in Madeira Beach, the second buildout scenario uses the
maximum FAR allowed in each future land use category. For example,
development of a 25,000 square foot parcel designated Commercial General
would have a buildout range from 8,250 square feet (the standard 0.33 FAR in
Commercial General) to 13,750 square feet (the maximum FAR of 0.55). The
FAR used to set the range for each future land use category is listed in Table 2
below.
Table 2
Standard and Maximum Floor Area Ratios (FAR)
Future Land Use Category
Commercial General
Institutional
Residential/Office/Retail
Recreation/Open Space
Transportation/Utility
Standard FAR
.33
.39
.24
.15
.42
Maximum FAR
.55
.65
.40
.25
.70
Source: Rules Concerning the Administration of the Countywide Future Land Use Plan, Pinellas Planning
Council.
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Parking Study
Several of the existing developments in the study areas are non-conforming
because they are already built at a higher intensity than the maximum allowed by
the comprehensive plan and zoning. The parking study considered the existing
square footage as the maximum potential build out for the site, rather than the
maximum otherwise allowed by the future land use category (which would be less
than what is built there now).
It was also assumed that municipal parking lots would continue to be used for
parking, regardless of the future land use category assigned to the parcel. These
existing spaces were included when tallying the future parking supply (no
development potential was attributed to the lot when calculating future parking
demand).
After determining the potential buildout scenarios using Table 2, the ratio of
parking spaces to building square footages was determined. The resulting
calculations indicate the range of the demand for future parking in the study area.
3. Future Demand – Future Supply = Future Need
Each area’s need for additional parking was then calculated as the future parking
demand minus the future supply. This calculation was completed for both the
standard and maximum development scenarios to determine the range of possible
need for additional parking facilities in the future.
C. Applying the Methodology to the Redevelopment Areas
The results of the parking needs assessment calculations were then considered in the
context of the qualitative information gathered during research, including the issues
identified by city employees and owners of businesses within each study area. Additional
factors for analysis included locations of existing parking supply and demand,
government regulations, private management policies, parking design and dimensions,
surrounding uses; and access. The findings are presented in Sections IV (Town Center)
and V (John’s Pass Village).
16
IV. TOWN CENTER
Using the methodology described in Section III of this report, the existing parking
supply, demand, and unmet need were calculated to determine how many parking spaces
are needed (if any) to meet the demands created by the existing uses in the Town Center.
This section presents the resulting calculations, as well as the estimated need for
additional parking that could result from future development.
A. Existing Parking Need
Within the Town Center area, there are 1,366 available parking spaces (47 spaces, 3% of
the total, are reserved for persons with disabilities). The parking spaces are distributed
throughout the area as indicated on Map 3. Table 3 summarizes the ownership of existing
parking spaces and whether they are located on-street or off-street.
Table 3
Town Center Existing Parking Supply
Publicly owned:
On-street 3
Off-street
Privately owned:
Off-street
131
201
Total
1,034
1,366
Source: Pinellas Planning Council, 2004
As shown by the table, most of the spaces (90%) are off-street parking lots developed for
specific uses. The Town Center’s 131 on-street spaces are found along the City recreation
area (87 spaces), on Madeira Way (42 spaces), and on Gulf Boulevard (2 spaces).
3
Total of public on-street parking includes the spaces on Madeira Way that are on both the public rightof-way and private property.
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Parking Study
Figure 4: Public Parking Lot at City Hall
Of the 1,235 off-street parking spaces in the district, 201 are located at public facilities:
112 spaces are at the Madeira Beach City Hall and the Gulf Beaches library, located in
the northeastern area of the Town Center district. These parking spaces do not have any
fee associated with them. The other 89 publicly owned parking spaces are at the cityowned marina and new Causeway Park, both located on Tom Stuart Causeway/150th
Avenue. Many of these spaces are leased out to dry-storage customers by the month or
are paid for by boat ramp uses for the day.
The 42 on-street parking spaces along Madeira Way are partly in the public right-of-way,
but a portion of each space is actually on private property associated with the adjacent
businesses. All of the remaining parking facilities are on-site lots on private property.
Most of these lots have posted notices restricting their use to specific times of the day,
limited lengths of time, or to patrons of specific businesses. Several of the public spaces
on Madeira Way also have signs reserving them for particular businesses.
Figure 5: On-Street Parking Along Madeira Way
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Town Center
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Town Center
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22
Town Center
Using the methodology described in Section III, the established land uses within the
Town Center generate a demand for 1,055 parking spaces (including 65 parking spaces,
6.2%, for persons with disabilities). Table 4 shows the existing parking supply and
demand, broken out by land uses.
Table 4
Town Center Estimated Parking Demand for Existing Uses
Description
Gas Station
Government
Hotel
Marina
Office
Restaurant
Retail
Service
Shopping Center
Vacant
Total
Existing Parking Existing Parking
Difference % Difference
Spaces
Demand
1
2
-1
-50%
229
67
+162
+242%
41
35
+6
+17%
83
317
-234
-74%
79
98
-19
-20%
151
133
+18
+14%
339
206
+133
+65%
67
56
+11
+20%
322
141
+181
+128%
54
0
+54
+100%
1,366
1,055
+311
+29%
Source: Pinellas Planning Council, 2004
Subtracting the demand from the existing 1,366 spaces indicates there is an excess of 311
parking spaces in the Town Center, 29% more than the total parking needed to serve the
existing land uses in the district. This corresponds to the conditions noted during field
visits and the reports of district business owners and city staff. Even on the busiest days
during the peak tourist season, staff observed available parking spaces in most areas of
the Town Center.
However, there is a public perception of a parking problem in the Town Center because
specific uses (restaurants, post office, and marina) generate a high demand for
immediately adjacent parking spaces. Because the district is too large to be covered in a
5-to-10 minute walk, excess parking in one area of the Town Center does not necessarily
alleviate parking problems for other areas of the district. This situation is exacerbated by
limited pedestrian access in some areas. Also, there is very little shared parking in the
district so excess parking at one business is not being used to alleviate problems on
adjacent or nearby businesses. Therefore, although the Town Center as a whole has
sufficient parking, there are deficiencies associated with particular parcels.
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Parking Study
Figure 6: Underutilized Parking Lot at Shopping Center
As a general observation, the entire Town Center district lacks dedicated delivery areas
for businesses. Even at the Winn Dixie grocery store where there are delivery bays, the
truck parking areas block parking for the adjacent businesses, forcing the delivery trucks
to occupy parking spaces that are intended for customers.
Figure 7: Delivery Truck Blocking Parking Spaces
24
Town Center
Also, there is no uniformity to the district’s parking – design, access, regulations, and
signage all vary from business to business and from public lot to private lot. This leads to
confusion for drivers and may discourage potential customers who decide not to park at
all because they cannot tell for certain if their car is parked in the appropriate location.
Figure 8: Underutilized Parking Lot With Restrictive Signage
Figure 9: Example of Inconsistent Signage in Private Parking Lots
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Parking Study
B. Future Parking Need
Using the methodology described in Section III, the future parking demand that
would result from redevelopment of the Town Center is expected to range from
1,028 parking spaces (if developed at the “standard” floor area ratio), to 2,379
parking spaces (if developed at the maximum potential intensity allowed by the
city’s Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Element). Table 5 summarizes these
calculations.
Table 5
Town Center Future Parking Supply and Demand
Existing Parking
Supply
Future Parking
Demand
Additional Parking
Spaces Needed
Standard
1,366
1,028
0
Maximum
1,366
2,379
1,013
Scenario
Source: Pinellas Planning Council, 2004; See Section III-Methodology for explanation of calculations
The standard scenario is similar to that generated by the existing development
within the area. Even with some anticipated changes in land use, the 1,366 existing
parking spaces are sufficient to meet this demand. However, if the Town Center is
redeveloped at its maximum potential, there will be a need for 1,013 new parking
spaces.
Although the existing number of spaces is expected to be sufficient to meet future
demands, this composite number does not address the existing problems: lack of a
convenient access between available parking and the uses that generate a demand
for them, poor design, and unwalkable distances between uses and available parking
spaces. These problems are described more fully in the following section.
Recommendations for resolving these issues in the Town Center are provided in
Section VII.
C. Other Factors Influencing Parking in the Town Center
• Geographic constraints limit opportunities to reconfigure the sites in ways that
could provide additional parking. Intra-coastal canals and/or public road rights-ofway border many of the lots in the Town Center, so consolidating adjacent lots to
expand existing parking lots usually is not an option.
• Parking lots owned by the City are somewhat remote from the rest of the district
and have varying limitations placed on their use (or it is not clear that they can be
26
Town Center
used for parking for access to other uses), limiting their potential to alleviate
district-wide parking problems.
• While certain sub-areas of the Town Center district are walkable, the district as a
whole is not. For the most part, this is due to the fact that the district is larger than
¼ mile from one end to the other, the usual standard for walkability. But there are
also some design issues that make the district unfriendly for pedestrians, detailed
below:
o The speed of automobile traffic and the lack of signalized crosswalks on
Tom Stuart Causeway/150th Avenue combine to create a substantial barrier
to pedestrians trying to cross the road. Observations and interviews
indicate that visitors avoid crossing the street.
o Northernmost areas of Tom Stuart Causeway/150th Avenue are also
somewhat removed from the rest of the area because they are not within a
walkable (5-to-10 minute or ¼ mile) distance to Gulf Boulevard.
o Pedestrian access is limited between the uses on the west side of Gulf
Boulevard (outside of the study area) and the Town Center due to the lack
of clearly demarcated, safe pedestrianways.
o Madeira Way is isolated from the rest of the Town Center district because
of its angled roadway. Rather than a problem, this could be viewed as an
opportunity to create a special character district (discussed in the
Recommendations section of this report).
Figure 10: Madeira Way
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Parking Study
Figure 11: Intersection of Gulf Boulevard and Tom Stuart Causeway
• Parking by beach visitors, as opposed to spillover from one business to another
adjacent one, causes some parking conflicts in the Town Center. However, this
only becomes a major problem during the peak tourist season.
• A few individual restaurants, the post office, and the marina create substantial
demands for nearby parking. The restaurants with parking deficits are in shopping
centers or on lots too small to provide sufficient on-site parking. This sometimes
affects adjacent residential neighborhoods since patrons will park in these areas.
Alternative parking facilities exist within walking distance, but either are not
visible to patrons or have been marked as reserved for customers of another
business.
• Rather than shared parking, separate restricted parking for individual uses is
typical. Many of the businesses have posted signs or otherwise reserved on-site
parking spaces (both public and private), even in situations when doing so has not
been authorized by the City, as is the case on Madeira Way where a portion of the
parking spaces are in public rights-of-way.
• The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) Suncoast Beach Trolley has 42
stops in Madeira Beach on both the east and west sides of Gulf Boulevard. The
trolleys run 33 trips per day, departing every 20-30 minutes from 5:05 a.m. to
10:10 p.m., Monday through Sunday, with additional service until midnight on
Friday and Saturday. The fare is $1.25 per ride or $3.00 per day. Each trolley seats
30 riders with room for an additional 15 people to stand, for a total capacity of
7,425 riders during the week and 9,000 on the weekends. Although the trolley
28
Town Center
route is popular, especially during the peak tourist months, PSTA reports that the
route runs under capacity.
D. Summary
The Town Center district does not have an overall parking deficit; in fact, the study area
has 23% more parking spaces than what is needed for the existing businesses. However,
many of these spaces are not within a walkable distance from businesses, or the
pedestrian access is hindered by roadway design. In other cases, some parking lots can be
made more efficient by allowing patrons of adjacent businesses to park there. Section VI
includes recommendations to address these problems.
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30
V. JOHN’S PASS VILLAGE
Using the methodology described in Section III, the existing parking supply and demand
were calculated to determine how many parking spaces are needed now to meet the
demands created by the existing uses in the John’s Pass Village study area. The need for
additional parking expected to result from future development was also estimated using
the methodology outlined in Section III. This section presents the results of those
calculations along with other observations regarding the district’s parking constraints
gathered from field visits and discussions with business owners and employees in the
study area. Recommendations are presented in Section VII.
A. Existing Parking Need
Within the John’s Pass Village study area, there are 1,000 available parking spaces
(20, or 2%, of them are reserved for persons with disabilities.) These parking spaces
are distributed throughout the area as indicated on Map 4. In addition to the usable
on- and off-street parking spaces, the existing total also includes parking facilities
that are under construction in the study area. Table 6 summarizes the existing
parking supply, ownership status, and whether they are located on-street or offstreet.
Table 6
John’s Pass Village Existing Parking Supply
Publicly owned:
On-street
Off-street
Privately owned:
Off-street
Total
114
178
688
1,000
Source: Pinellas Planning Council, 2004
Eighty-six percent of the spaces are in parking lots. The City manages two of the
lots (21% of the district’s off-street parking): one in the center of John’s Pass
Village, the other on the west side of Gulf Boulevard. The second public lot
accesses the Village via a pedestrian walkway under the John’s Pass Bridge, so
pedestrians do not have to cross Gulf Boulevard (although many still do). Spaces in
both lots are metered. In addition to the off-street parking facilities, there are 114
on-street parking spaces managed by the City (11% of the total parking spaces in
John’s Pass Village). All of these are metered as well.
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Parking Study
32
John’s Pass Village
Figure 12: City Parking Lot on West Side of Gulf Boulevard
Figure 13: Walkway Under Bridge
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Parking Study
Figure 14: Public Parking On East Side of Gulf Boulevard
The remaining off-street parking spaces are privately owned and reserved for
customers of specific businesses. Of the 688 privately owned spaces, 212 (31%) are
in a two-story parking structure reserved for customers of the casino cruise ship and
Hubbard’s Marina. Employees oversee parking in this deck, directing the cars in and
out so as to maximize efficiency. The other parking lots are surface lots, and several
of them are unmarked and unpaved. Several of these are also staffed at peak times to
help get as many customers as possible into them and to keep non-customers out. In
addition, some of the marina’s restaurants have valet parking.
Figure 15: Parking Deck and Private Parking Spaces at Hubbard’s Marina
34
John’s Pass Village
Using the methodology described in Section III, the established land uses within
John’s Pass Village generate a demand for 1,385 parking spaces (including 68
parking spaces for persons with disabilities). Therefore, an additional 385 parking
spaces are needed to meet the existing demand for parking generated by the current
uses in John’s Pass Village. Table 7 summarizes this calculation.
Table 7
John’s Pass Village Estimated Parking Demand for Existing Uses
Description
Club
Office
Residential
Restaurant
Retail
Under
Construction
Vacant
Parking Lot
Total
%
Existing Parking Existing Parking
Difference Difference
Spaces
Demand
34
27
+7
+26%
5
12
-7
-58%
10
16
-6
-38%
264
676
-412
-61%
208
497
-289
-58%
0
5
474
1,000
157
0
0
1,385
-157
+5
+474
-385
-100%
NA
NA
-28%
Source: Pinellas Planning Council, 2004
Unlike the Town Center, parking areas at John’s Pass Village are filled during the
peak tourist months, as well as evenings and weekends throughout the year.
Discussions with business owners and employees in the district indicate that the
calculated parking shortage is consistent with a real problem that has been a source
of complaints from visitors. In 2003, the owners of Hubbard’s Marina submitted
plans to the City to convert the existing parking deck into a multi-story parking
garage, including retail uses at the pedestrian level. The City has approved this
garage but it is not under construction, so it was not included in the existing parking
supply. The 177 additional spaces proposed for the garage would address 46% of
the estimated existing parking need in John’s Pass Village, a significant relief for
the parking demand that now occurs during peak times.
John’s Pass Village is also different from the Town Center area in that its design is
oriented toward pedestrians. The core of the district is approximately a ¼ mile
north-to-south and east-to west, the typical standard for a walkable district. From
field visits and discussions with business owners and employees, it appears that
most visitors leave their cars in one place, regardless of which stores or restaurants
they plan to visit (or how many), and do not necessarily park in a space close to
their primary destination. This appears to apply mainly to the parking areas internal
to John’s Pass Village; visitors are not as likely to park in the city lot across Gulf
35
Parking Study
Boulevard and use the walkway under the bridge to gain access to John’s Pass
Village. This lot is very close to the marina boardwalk, but the signs for the parking
lot are not clearly visible from Gulf Boulevard, so it is possible that some visitors do
not know about the parking lot and underpass access. However, once in the parking
lot, the signs directing pedestrians to the underpass are clear.
The third difference between the two districts is that parking lot signage in John’s
Pass Village is more consistent than that in Town Center. Signs for the public
parking lots and on-street parking spaces are the same throughout the district and
they clearly state parking regulations and meter procedures. Although signage
designs vary slightly from one private parking lot to the next, the regulations stated
on them are clear and stated similarly to others in the district, which minimizes
confusion among visitors.
Many of the existing parking spaces are shared, so it does not appear that there is
much potential for additional shared parking between uses. In addition, most of the
uses have the same peak operating hours, further limiting the potential for multipleuse parking facilities. The pedestrian-friendly design of the Village appears to have
eased the district-wide parking demand, but additional facilities or demand
management strategies are necessary to address the shortage identified by the
analysis and corroborated by the business owners and employees in the district.
Specific recommendations are presented in Section VII of this report.
B. Future Parking Need
Using the methodology described in Section III, the future parking demand is
expected to range from 1,122 parking spaces to 1,865 parking spaces. If all of the
parcels in John’s Pass Village are redeveloped at the standard floor area ratio, a
surplus of 55 parking spaces could be expected in the district. The surplus is the
result of two factors: 1) in several cases, the standard floor area ratio (FAR) is lower
than the existing building floor area ratio; and 2) 177 new spaces proposed to be
built in the Hubbard Marina parking garage are included in the future parking
supply.
If John’s Pass Village redevelops at the maximum allowable intensities, there could
be a future deficit of as much as 688 parking spaces. On parcels where there is an
existing, non-conforming building at a higher FAR than allowed by the Future Land
Use Plan, the existing square footage was assumed to be the maximum potential
buildout. Table 8 summarizes the projections.
36
John’s Pass Village
Table 8
John’s Pass Village Future Parking Supply and Demand
Existing Parking
Supply
Future Parking
Demand
Additional Parking
Spaces Needed
Standard
1,177
1,122
0
Maximum
1,177
1,865
688
Scenario
Source: Pinellas Planning Council, 2004
It should be noted that these totals assume that the existing city parking spaces (onstreet and in parking lots) will be protected and continue in their current numbers
and configurations. The total future parking supply includes the 389 spaces planned
in a private parking garage to be built for Hubbard’s Marina (177 more than exist in
that parking lot now), so the projected deficit is in addition to those planned parking
spaces.
C. Other Factors Influencing Parking in John’s Pass Village
• Recognizing the importance of available parking to their businesses’ success,
several of the large business owners in John’s Pass Village have taken it upon
themselves to create parking for their customers. Examples include the parking
deck for the casino ship and the unpaved lots reserved for customers of specific
restaurants. These lots are monitored by staff who not only keep non-customers
from using the spaces, but also direct drivers in and out of the lots so as to
maximize the available space.
• Because all of the businesses within John’s Pass Village are tourist-oriented
retail, restaurants, and bars, they all have generally the same peak operating
hours, limiting the potential for shared parking agreements to reduce the need
for more spaces.
• John’s Pass Village is a pedestrian-oriented development. Visitors appear to
accept that they will have to walk at least a short distance from their cars to
their destination and they are able to do so because of the sidewalks and
crosswalks in the district. The walk from the car is considered to be part of the
entertainment since there are waterfront views and shop windows to look at
along the way. In addition, many visitors appear to stop at more than one
business while walking through the district.
• Visitors to John’s Pass Village utilize the city-owned and managed parking lot
on the west side of Gulf Boulevard, and this lot is full during peak tourist
times. However, the signs for the lot are not clearly visible from Gulf
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Parking Study
Boulevard, which may prevent people from using it at other times of the year.
The walkway under the bridge from this lot is well marked (even though some
users still attempt crossing Gulf Boulevard without using the underpass).
• John’s Pass Village is almost completely built out, and what land is available
for development is priced too high for the City to acquire new surface lots. As
the land prices continue to increase, pressure to convert the existing privately
owned surface lots to other uses will also increase. As evidenced by the new
parking garage proposed by private interests, multi-level structures will have to
replace some of the existing surface parking and designs will have to be more
creative.
• In light of these development pressures, the City’s prior investments in public
parking areas in John’s Pass Village become increasingly valuable and should
be preserved.
• The Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority’s (PSTA) Suncoast Beach Trolley is
an important resource to John’s Pass Village. As described earlier in this
report, the trolley runs every 20-30 minutes from early in the morning until
after 10:00 p.m. on weeknights and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
As a result of negotiations with the City, PSTA recently modified the route so
that the northbound trolleys stop inside the Village, and the southbound
trolleys stop inside the city parking lot on the west side of Gulf Boulevard.
Village visitors regularly use the trolley, but according to PSTA, the trolley is
not running at its full capacity.
D. Summary
John’s Pass Village has an existing parking deficit of 385 spaces. A large portion of this
deficit will be addressed if the proposed Hubbard’s Marina parking garage is built, but
even with the 177 additional spaces that garage would provide, there would still be a
deficit. If future development occurs at the standard floor area ratio prescribed by the
Comprehensive Plan, which is lower than the existing building square footage in the
district, there will no longer be a parking deficit. However, development and/or
redevelopment at the maximum possible in the district is projected to result in a deficit of
688 spaces. Section VI includes recommendations to address these problems through new
parking facilities, new development regulations, and public policies to help reduce
parking demand in the district.
38
VI. “MASTER PLAN FOR MADEIRA BEACH”
In August 2002, the Madeira Beach City Commission adopted the “Master Plan for
Madeira Beach” in concept to guide the city’s future development. Implementation of the
document is proposed through amendments to the City’s comprehensive plan and land
development regulations, as well as changes to city policies regarding economic
development. Depending on how it is implemented, the Master Plan could have positive
and/or negative effects on the future needs for parking identified by this study. Therefore,
this section addresses the potential impacts the Master Plan could have on parking in the
study areas.
In general, the Master Plan recommends increasing intensity and density within the Town
Center and John’s Pass Village, which would be expected to increase the demand for
parking as a consequence. However, the “New Urbanist” land use and building pattern
suggested by the Master Plan attempts to reduce automobile dependency within the city,
thereby reducing the need for parking.
For example, the parking study assumes that the existing future land use category will
remain; for most of the district, this is the Commercial General category, which typically
generates the highest need for parking facilities. The Master Plan proposes some different
land uses that could lower the number of spaces needed to accommodate future
development; for example, a mix of uses that encourages shared or cross-use parking
facilities. In one particular case in point, the Master Plan proposes redevelopment of the
Leverock’s restaurant site and the adjacent marina with a mix of uses that would result in
a lower parking need than that estimated in the Town Center portion of this study.
More specifically, the Master Plan proposes seven themes for future development.
Implementation of themes will change the development patterns in Madeira Beach and,
in turn, change the city’s parking needs, as explained below.
1. Designating Pedestrian-Oriented Activity Centers Within the City – The Town
Center and John’s Pass are two of the three activity centers identified by the
plan (the other is Crystal Island, a residential area that does not have parking
constraints). In order to implement this first theme, parking areas must be
located within these activity centers so that visitors can leave their cars within
a walkable distance from their destinations. The parking should also be located
to minimize potential hazards to pedestrians.
2. Redesigning Gulf Boulevard as a “Place” Instead of Simply a Highway –
Accomplishing this will require redesigning Gulf Boulevard to enhance
pedestrian access and safety along the roadway. Recommendations include
redeveloping commercial sites with the storefronts on the sidewalks to create a
39
Parking Study
consistent façade along the streetscapes and improve pedestrian accessibility.
To achieve this, parking must be located on the sides and rear of buildings. The
plan also suggests limiting the number of driveways on Gulf Boulevard, which
will require careful location and design of parking facilities.
3. Creating a True Civic Center Around Madeira Way – The Master Plan calls for
the Town Center area to be a focal point for redevelopment. Sufficient, welllocated parking spaces will be necessary to support the more intense
development and urban pattern proposed by the plan.
4. Enhancing Tom Stuart Causeway/150th Avenue Entrance onto the Island – The
Master Plan proposes significant new mixed-use (retail, office, and residential)
development at this gateway to Madeira Beach, which is also part of the Town
Center area. A city park is also featured. There are significant opportunities for
meeting the district’s future parking needs with these new developments.
5. Clarifying the Zoning and Development Codes to Promote Rather than Stifle
the Vision – The Master Plan’s authors concluded that the city’s zoning and
land development codes do not encourage redevelopment and will not result in
the urban form that the residents, business owners, and elected officials
envision. Minimum parking requirements were among the specific code items
identified for change. The City has already taken some action on this:
Ordinance 959, adopted on October 14, 2003, reduced the number of parking
spaces required for certain uses in order to increase flexibility and reduce the
need for variances.
6. Working Within the Accepted Paradigms of Real Estate Practices to Leverage
Public Sector Assets Against Private Sector Investments in the City – This
theme acknowledges one of the key tenets of redevelopment: it takes both the
private and public sector, working in cooperation, for successful
redevelopment. With this in mind, this parking study makes recommendations
on potential incentives and investments that the public sector can make to
accomplish public goals, and other investments that are appropriately left to the
private sector.
7. Establishing a Workable Program for Implementing the Vision – The Master
Plan includes an implementation matrix, which outlines specific actions needed
to effectuate the plan’s recommendations. Among these is a parking plan for
John’s Pass Village.
It should also be noted that the Master Plan makes some recommendations
specifically regarding future parking facilities in Madeira Beach:
40
Master Plan for Madeira Beach
“Parking for all new developments must be coordinated at the scale
of the block, with an emphasis on multiple use of each space, as well
as the provision of dedicated on-street parking stalls. As much as
possible, no curb cuts should be allowed along the length of the
street between intersections.” (page 20)
“All parking must be accommodated at grade [due to the required
building elevations, since Madeira Beach is in a flood hazard zone],
and ingress/egress lanes and curb cuts should be minimized. Where
possible, adjoining properties should share ingress and egress
drives.” (pages 20-21)
The Master Plan’s themes and recommendations were taken into consideration
when composing the recommendations set forth in Section VII, but because the
Master Plan has not yet been implemented, its proposals were not considered to be
the absolute future of the city. The recommendations of this parking study should
apply to any new development or redevelopment in the study areas, regardless of
whether or not actions are taken to implement the Master Plan.
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42
VII.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The following identifies various means by which the public and private sectors can
address the parking needs identified within the study areas. Since the opportunities to
construct additional parking facilities are limited, other, more creative, initiatives should
be taken to increase efficient use of existing spaces while decreasing the demand for
them. The recommendations that follow are not intended to be a checklist of actions that
must all be taken to alleviate parking concerns. Short of constructing all necessary
parking spaces, the section presents a menu of possible solutions to address the specific
problems identified by the study. Each suggestion should be considered individually, and
then in combination with other circumstances, for feasibility, and should also be weighed
with the City’s economic and community development goals. Final decisions to
implement any or all of the recommendations are, of course, to be made at the City’s
discretion.
There are three general ways to address parking needs. The first, increasing the number
of available parking spaces, is the most obvious. But the second means, increasing the
efficient utilization of the existing parking facilities, is often more cost-effective and
faster to implement. This will be especially true in Madeira Beach since acquiring land
for parking facilities is likely to be cost prohibitive. The third mechanism is more
complex and is usually a long-term goal: reducing the overall demand for parking. This
can be done by changing the types of land uses that exist within the district or by
increasing use of non-automobile modes of transportation (i.e., pedestrian, bicycle, and
mass transit). These three approaches should be viewed as complementary, not mutually
exclusive choices, and the actions recommended by this study fall into all three
categories.
A. Addressing Existing Need
Table 9 summarizes the number of parking spaces needed in each study area to meet the
existing demand.
Table 9
Additional Parking Spaces Needed to Meet Existing Demand
Study Area
Town Center
John’s Pass Village
Additional
Parking Spaces
Needed
0
385
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Parking Study
Even though there is no cumulative need for additional parking in the Town Center at this
time, steps should be taken to improve access to the available parking supply because it is
not evenly disbursed throughout the area, in order to reduce the perception of a parking
problem. In John’s Pass Village, where there is an actual parking deficit, but very little
opportunity for new surface parking, efforts should focus on converting existing parking
lots into structures and on reducing the overall demand. Many of the efforts underway in
John’s Pass Village – valet parking, shared parking arrangements, pedestrian-oriented
urban design – have been successful in mitigating the deficit there, and should be applied
to the Town Center as it continues to develop.
The following addresses, one by one, the problems found throughout both parking studies
and proposes ways to address each problem.
Problem 1: Parking spaces or entire lots are restricted to customers of specific
businesses, creating artificial shortages in certain locations.
Recommendations:
• Rather than restricting parking to a specific use, place time limits of two-to-three
hours on the spaces (depending on each use). This will allow shared parking,
encourage people to leave their cars in one space and visit more than one business
at a time, but will still discourage beach-goers from taking up the parking spaces
all day. (It should be remembered, however, that even daily beach visitors often
contribute to the local economy.)
• The City should consider purchasing easements for those portions of the parking
spaces on Madeira Way that are on private property. This would allow for better
management, would eliminate the inclination of business owners to lay claim to
specific spaces, and would allow the City to add meters to the spaces, which also
helps to manage the time any one vehicle remains in a space.
• The City should consider either acquiring outright, or purchasing the parking
rights to, large private parking lots within the Town Center and opening them to
public parking.
• Businesses should consider providing valet parking for their customers during
peak hours. An amendment to the land development regulations could be made so
that when the City reviews changes in uses, it can require this.
• Consider building parking decks on existing parking lots, especially the lot behind
the post office on Madeira Way.
• Provide public incentives for business owners to re-stripe their lots in a manner
that improves access and safety.
44
Recommendations
Problem 2: Limited pedestrian access between parking spaces and nearby land uses
limits the potential for shared parking.
Recommendations:
• Build a walkway under the Causeway Bridge to connect Causeway Park to the
uses on the south side of the Tom Stuart Causeway/150th Avenue.
• Install signalized pedestrian crosswalks on Tom Stuart Causeway/150th Avenue
between the bridge and Gulf Boulevard to connect uses (noting that this will need
to be coordinated with the Florida Department of Transportation to ensure that it
does not conflict with the drawbridge’s function.) This would also cause traffic to
slow along the roadway, increasing safety and visibility of the businesses along
the road.
• Install signals at crosswalks between the city-owned parking lots on the west side
of Gulf Boulevard to the uses on the east side of the roadway.
• Improve sidewalks along Tom Stuart Causeway/150th Avenue and Gulf Boulevard
to ensure that the pedestrian connections on each side of the road are safe and
provide sufficient access between uses.
• Evaluate potential changes in sidewalk design along Gulf Boulevard in
coordination with plans to redesign the corridor.
• Improve sidewalks and other pedestrian amenities on Madeira Way in
coordination with a comprehensive redevelopment plan for the street.
• Consider installing design elements that would limit automobile access to Madeira
Way. This would increase the pedestrian access and safety on this street and
encourage new businesses to develop as a unified district. (Downtown Dunedin
offers a nearby example of how this can be accomplished without closing the
street.)
• Improve pedestrian connections between the City Hall parking lot and surrounding
uses.
• Amend the land development regulations to limit the number of driveways
permitted for each individual property owner.
Problem 3: Lack of uniformity in parking design, regulations, and signage creates
confusion for visitors.
Recommendations:
• Consider allocating funds to provide consistent signage at low or no cost to
businesses.
• As an alternative, the City could provide signage guidelines for businesses to
follow. These could be required through the land development regulations or
encouraged through business associations.
• Redevelopment should be required to meet all code requirements for parking
design.
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Parking Study
Parking variances for expansions encourage short-term economic
Problem 4:
development but can also result in parking deficits and long-term economic problems.
Recommendations:
• Variances to the parking standards adopted by the City in October, 2003, should
be granted only when the actual parking needs can be mitigated through nonredundant shared parking agreements. Uses that depend on public spaces to meet
the land development regulations should pay a fee-in-lieu of providing spaces onsite. This fee can be used along with other parking revenues to construct and
maintain new spaces.
• The City should create a system for tracking shared parking agreements and the
parking spaces they rely on to eliminate multiple businesses relying on the same
spaces.
Problem 5: No dedicated truck delivery areas for businesses creates conflicts in parking
lots and on streets.
Recommendations:
• Businesses should retrofit their parking lots to provide delivery areas where
possible, or ensure that truck deliveries only occur during off-peak hours when
they will not conflict with automobile parking.
• Limit variances to code requirements for dedicated delivery areas when sites are
redeveloped.
Problem 6: General lack of multimodal transportation options in the area increases the
overall demand for parking.
Recommendations:
• Find new ways to promote the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority’s (PSTA)
Suncoast Beach Trolley line and other public transit options that are already in
place. According to PSTA, these existing transit options are underutilized.
• Ensure that mass transit stops and pedestrian crosswalk locations are coordinated
to enhance pedestrian opportunities.
• Consider jointly investing with adjacent cities in a park-and-ride lot that would
provide better access to the PSTA trolley.
• Through the land development regulations, require new projects to provide transit
shelters and bicycle racks in locations that promote pedestrian access between
those amenities and the adjacent uses.
• Provide assistance to hotels/motels to provide bicycles for visitors.
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Recommendations
B. Addressing Future Need
As noted in Table 10 below, the parking demands generated by development or
redevelopment at the standard floor area ratio can be accommodated by the parking
facilities in both the Town Center and John’s Pass Village (although John’s Pass Village
will have a slight deficit if the proposed parking garage is not constructed as proposed).
However, redevelopment of the areas at their maximum development potentials will
generate demands for additional parking spaces.
Table 10
Additional Parking Spaces Needed to Meet Projected Future Demand
Study Area
Town Center
John’s Pass Village
Range of Additional
Parking Spaces Needed
0 - 1,013
0 - 688
Several factors could affect where in this range the future need for parking actually
occurs.
• The calculations assume that new development will be required to provide the
minimum number of on-site parking spaces required by the City code, rather than
granted variances. Future variances that reduce the number of on-site parking
spaces could increase the overall number of additional parking spaces needed.
• Because public parking spaces make up a substantial number of the existing
spaces in both districts, an increase or decrease in the number of public parking
spaces would impact the total parking needs.
• The projected need could be reduced depending on what types of land uses are
developed on specific parcels. The methodology for calculating the parking
demand assumes that property designated for Commercial General or
Residential/Office/Retail will develop primarily with retail uses. If portions of the
area develop with a large residential component, then the demand for parking will
be reduced not just on that parcel, but also on adjacent properties since residents
will be able to walk or bicycle to nearby uses.
It is important to note that this need will occur incrementally at the same pace as
development – the need for hundreds of parking spaces will not occur all at once.
Redevelopment of the districts should be viewed as an opportunity to consciously
restructure Madeira Beach’s urban fabric in a manner that is safe, efficient, and
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Parking Study
economically sustainable. The following recommendations will help the City ensure that
sufficient parking, properly designed, is included in future development.
• Require all redevelopment to provide parking at the ratios prescribed by the land
development regulations. Variances should only be permitted according to specific
codified criteria, and then only in exchange for a fee for each space waived. This
fee should be used, along with other parking revenues, for maintenance of existing
public parking, as well as construction and maintenance of new spaces.
• Consider converting dead-end streets and/or unimproved rights-of-way that are not
essential for circulation into parking spaces. This would create new public parking
spaces similar to the small access lots on the west side of Gulf Boulevard. New
opportunities to develop these types of small public lots could be provided through
the redevelopment process. For example, the City should not vacate rights-of-way
if they can be converted to parking, unless compensated with parking in another
location by the person requesting vacation.
• Amend the land development regulations to specify the conditions for shared use
agreements, the City’s review and approval process, and how they are to be
recorded.
• Amend the land development regulations to allow the City to provide incentives to
developers (such as additional building heights) in exchange for constructing
public parking facilities in excess of the minimum number of parking spaces.
• The land development regulations should require that redevelopment coordinate
with the streetscape plans for the district’s corridors to increase pedestrian activity.
In particular, all new development should be required to place parking lots in the
rear or on the side of buildings to encourage pedestrian-friendly development
patterns along the main streets. This would require an amendment to the City’s
land development regulations.
• When designing the corridor redevelopment plans, the City should consider
providing on-street parking on Tom Stuart Causeway/150th Avenue and Gulf
Boulevard. This could not only increase the pool of available parking spaces, but
could also act to slow down automobile traffic on these roads, which increases
pedestrian safety.
• If the City Hall and Library properties are rebuilt, the City should consider
providing a new public parking structure as part of the redevelopment plan.
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VIII.
RESOURCES
City of Madeira Beach, Florida. 2003. Code of Ordinances, as amended. Subpart B: Land
Development Regulations.
City of Madeira Beach, Florida. 1999. City of Madeira Beach Comprehensive Plan, as
amended.
Davidson, M., Dolnick, F. 2002. “Parking Standards.” Planning Advisory Service, Report
Number 510/511. Chicago: American Planning Association.
Institute of Transportation Engineers. 1994. Parking Generation, Second Edition.
Washington, D.C.: Institute of Transportation Engineers.
Litman, T. 2000. Pavement Busters Guide: Why and How to Reduce the Amount of Land
Paved for Roads and Parking Facilities. Victoria, British Columbia: Victoria Transport
Policy Institute.
Shoup, D. 1999. “The Trouble With Minimum Parking Requirements.” Transportation
Research Record, Part A, 33, no. 7/8:549-74.
Urban Land Institute. 1993. The Dimensions of Parking, Third Edition. Washington,
D.C.: Urban Land Institute.
Urban Land Institute. 1999. Parking Requirements for Shopping Centers, Second Edition.
Washington, D.C.: Urban Land Institute.
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