From 2013-2015, Berkeley implemented the goBerkeley pilot project, which used demand-based pricing and longer time limits to free up parking space, reduce congestion, and improve the parking experience in the Downtown Berkeley, Southside/Telegraph, and Elmwood commercial districts. goBerkeley was adopted as a permanent program in 2015 and is now used to manage parking citywide. 

During the pilot, the City received feedback from merchants, employees, and residents about a persistent problem in Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) permit areas: the “two-hour shuffle,” which occurs when folks without permits leave work and search for parking every two hours to avoid a citation for exceeding posted (two-hour) time limits. In 2016, the City received a grant to study whether goBerkeley parking tools could be used to manage shared residential parking spaces in a way benefiting all users, and identify ways to reduce reliance on car commuting. 

The SmartSpace pilot project began public outreach and data collection in fall 2019 and was delayed for over a year due to the pandemic. Surveys and door-to-door visits with merchants and employees confirmed that the “two-hour shuffle” continued to pose problems. Some merchants reported paying high citation fees for themselves or their employees, or employees leaving in the middle of work or appointments to move their cars. The constant interruptions caused lost productivity and extra stress. 

Through this project, the City seeks insights into the best ways to serve the residents, employees, and visitors who are currently sharing residential street parking spaces during the day. 

• Reduce occurrences of the “two-hour shuffle” to:
  • Reduce inconvenience for local merchants and employees
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with this behavior
• Improve parking availability in residential areas around the Elmwood and Southside/Telegraph commercial districts
• Increase information about and/or facilitate access to alternatives to driving and parking
• Improve customer service and technology related to the City’s parking program

The City seeks to manage visitor demand for parking in the Elmwood & Southside/Telegraph residential areas using strategies that will effectively achieve project goals. In response to community feedback, the City has developed several new strategies to be studied under the pilot. The initial concepts presented to the community in November 2021 are no longer under consideration.  

Based on spring 2022 community feedback, the City has identified final recommendations for the pilot. In the Elmwood pilot area, we would implement a merchant employee parking pass program, and establish a merchant-supported transit pass program for employees. In the Southside/Telegraph pilot area, we would implement a smaller visitor paid parking program closer to the UC Campus, encourage local merchant employee parking in the City-owned Telegraph Channing Garage, and establish a merchant-supported transit pass program for employees. If approved by the City Council on June 28, 2022, staff will work to implement these strategies as part of the pilot program later this summer. 

The City has confirmed with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission that these new strategies are eligible to study under our grant.

Not necessarily, but it may inform how the City manages parking in the future.  

During the pilot, the City will collect data on how parking is being used in residential areas, including how frequently the “two-hour shuffle” is taking place, to evaluate the project’s effects. If the pilot is successful in achieving project goals, then staff may recommend making some or all of the changes permanent. If the pilot is not successful, then staff may recommend reverting to pre-pilot conditions. By testing new/alternate parking management strategies in residential areas, the project’s findings may also inform wider changes to the City's Residential Preferential Parking (RPP) Program.

The SmartSpace project is a pilot testing how parking and travel demand management strategies can reduce the “two-hour shuffle” and associated greenhouse gas emissions.

Initial data was collected in October 2021, and data is planned to be collected two more times: during the pilot (tentatively fall 2022), and after the pilot concludes (tentatively spring 2023).

The City is collecting the following data to evaluate the pilot’s effects:  

• Parking occupancy, to understand how full or empty spaces are.
• Parking duration of stay, to understand how long vehicles with or without RPP permits are parked.
• Parking search time, which models the expected path of travel of a visitor searching for parking, providing the time/distance traveled to find an available spot. This data will be used to estimate greenhouse gas emissions.  

We are also exploring other methods of quantifying the “two hour shuffle” that would be incorporated into future rounds of data collection.