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02-22-21 Handout8Te - z/zz/z, North Beaches Parking Program Merchant Survey Results 2.20.21 Do your CUSTOMERS feel that parking in Beaches TownCenter is: 17 responses Better Adequate More Difficult I think the program has helped tremendously in creating more spaces for our shoppers. They are getting use to it somewhat Some like the program and some don't There is not enough signage to alert customers of paid spots and location of the kiosks So many questions from customers regarding the parking kiosk and app. Now most can find a spot. They may have to pay for it, but they can park. Our customers have a love / hate relationship with the parking program. Love that they found a place to park. hate the kiosks. Once the app is explained they are appeased. As people get use to the using the system there are Tess complaints - people hate change Our lot is still waiting for Metered Parking. As one of the few remaining FREE lots, Poe's and Ragtime employees all park there, beach goers, shoppers. Zero parking for our customers. Never an available spot, It's a nightmare. They find parking easier during the weekdays. Staff around the area do not take up all the parking when they have to pay for it. They find it complicated, kiosks not working, apps not clear on where the location is, and not having increments lower than 30 minutes. Its a 50/50 split. We encourage the valet for our guests who are upset about the pay to park situation. Do your EMPLOYEES feel that parking in Beaches TownCenter is: 15 responses Better Adequate More Difficult We have always parked in employee lots - glad to see everyone else is finally using them! Only place to park at night is the Kmart lot and crossing 3rd St is perilous Same complaints as the consumer They don't know where to park anymore Same as above. As tenants, we have to fight for our parking in the back of our stores with Poe's and Ragtime employees. It's insanity. We carpool and use on site parking approved/contract employee parking is not adequate and far from the shops Locals quit coming Most of our staff ride bikes to work or park in the back PARKING RATES are reasonable. 16 responses Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Would like a discount for validation and lower increments for time We don't' know. We are not polling people. We've heard people say that compared to other cities, they felt like it was reasonable. Locals will never pay to park A new employee tried to park street side on Sunday, 2/21/20. She tried to use the app but it wasn't working so she went to the kiosk. She wanted to pay for 4hrs. The cost for 4 hours was $16. Simply outrageous and unacceptable. We were told it would be $1 for 1/2 hour and the first 1/2 hour was free. PARKING SIGNAGE is satisfactory. 17 responses Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Areas should be more clear The "P" on each space is too small Lots of people never see it lot of people do not see the signs or terminal Customers are constantly coming to the store for questions regarding parking. They have no idea where the kiosk are and don't understand which spots are paid parking. They also are always paying before 11am. There is no signage to tell them the first 1/2 hour is free and no paid parking before 11am PARKING STAFF and communication/education re: the parking program is satisfactory. 17 responses Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree More people out and about helping people understand the system would be helpful. The app has been a problem for some clientele - it does not always work - various ways Can be incredibly rude, not consistent in enforcing It's hard to be at the right place to answer questions. They are usually driving around would be nice to have representatives out and about interacting with the customers on how to use the kiposk etc Who do you contact for questions? PARKING PROGRAM CITATION / NON COMPLIANCE process is satisfactory. 16 responses 11k Strongly Agree 0 Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree Not sure exactly how this works and what is being enforced at this point Not consistent For those that abuse the system, they haven't been penalized No comment Are you giving warnings or tickets? What do I tell customers? Do you use the MERCHANT VALIDATION program re: your business 17 responses Yes 4 No Don't know about this option We like having this ability - it's important to be able to offer to customers who hate the program even if they don't use it. Wanted to but it's dollar for dollar and expensive I will use the validation option on special occasions. Still waiting for program to be rolled out in Shoppes of Northshore. Can't wait for enforcement. Don't know enough to be able to offer it We need to learn more about this and will look into it Has CUSTOMER TRAFFIC to your business changed since the new parking system was installed? 17 responses Traffic has increased No change in traffic Traffic has decreased 29.4% Not sure if it's due to parking or other factors We have a lot more tourist but also local clients - parking could be a factor Happy Hour has been drastically affected, Atlantic Beach locals do not want to pay. Now that the restaurant employees are parking, "off campus" spaces are readily available. And the first 1/2 hour free is a bonus for gift buying. Customers can't park, they drive around and give up. I don't know if it's just the parking situation , but it has increased. No effect on our business Hard to determine that one Locals go elsewhere Customers say they have found parking sooner Locals are complaining constantly about having to pay for parking. Most will not patronize us because they have to pay for parking. If CUSTOMER TRAFFIC changed, how much did it change vs. last year for the same time period? 12 responses Increased greater than 10% Increased between 1% and 10% Decreased between 1% and 10% Decreased greater than 10% We've seen a consistent decrease since mid December With Covid it is hard to tell It is too soon to say because of the effects of Covid on customer shopping. What are possible causes of TRAFFIC changes at your business if any (mark all that apply)? 16 responses Paid Parking Weather Economy All of the above Increased competition We are seeing more tourists & conventio... Covid 0 8 (50%) 7 (43.8%) 1 (6.3%) 1 (6.3%) 1 (6.3%) 1 (6.3%) 1 (6.3%) 2 4 6 8 10 People don't like change so it will take time to know if this is a good or bad thing More restaurants dividing up the same number of potential guests As previously stated locals are not happy with paid parking and as a result not patronizing. 10 (62.5%) Have you downloaded the PARKING APP? 17 responses Hard for older folks to use How would you rate the PARKING APP? 13 responses Yes No Don't know about it 5 -Stars EXCELLENT 4 -Stars GOOD 3 -Stars AVERAGE 2 -Stars FAIR 1 -Star POOR Needs to be more user-friendly AND the private Tots need to pop up LAST and not first. Also, there are too many choices and no one knows what "bubble" to choose when selecting a lot in the app. doesn't always process credit card according to our clientele make it free, guests are irritated by the 35 cents More clear zone it works - the younger people have no problem with it - the older generation are learning From customers response that the app is confusing. What improvements could be made to the PARKING PROGRAM overall? More communication to the merchants and public about what's working and what improvements are on the table. Flyer we could hand out - simple terms about how it works - might already exist? Better signage, clearer instructions, better employee parking. ENFORCEMENT Both cities should agree on parking for residents. Printed flyer we could put in our customers bag that explains in simple terms how to use the app - the more they come into contact with this information the more familiar with the term and signage the better it will be People struggle to use kiosk all the time. Signage Weekday parking til 2pm free or discount pricing. Make a monthly parking pass available for purchase re: office tenants in the area Additional comments and feedback re: the North Beaches Parking Program: The jury is still out - we'll see I guess! Stop dancing around this program. All IN and let's fix this. We're tired of fighting with offenders, we're supposed to be running businesses. Reconsidering choice of location before even a one year anniversary. Not recommending area at this stage to prospective tenants. taking into consideration, areas such as ours, most often charge for parking and their systems are not always as convenient or inexpensive. Advertising we have parking, keeping it simple. We have had complaints it is hard to do. People say it is not clear.