The City maintains public parking in six surface lots, six ramps and downtown metered street parking totaling nearly 5,400 spaces. These are occupied by contract and transient parkers throughout the day. These spaces provide parking for both visitors and employees in Rochester's downtown area.

In response to requests from downtown businesses and the Rochester Downtown Alliance, the City of Rochester Parking Division is exploring options to provide lower-cost transportation options for downtown employees.

Three options are being considered for eligible employees:

• A flat discounted parking rate
• Reduced-price public transit passes
• No new program

Each option presents different opportunities and challenges related to affordability, parking demand, revenue and administrative requirements. These options are open to discussion, including the possibility of creating hybrid approaches based on Council feedback on underlying policy considerations.

As the Parking Enterprise Fund is intended to be self-sustaining, an important consideration is developing a program that is fiscally responsible and does not negatively impact the financial stability of the Parking Division. Any program should also be straightforward for employees and businesses to access and for City teammates to administer.

Teammates are seeking Councilmember perspectives on the policy objectives, priorities, and tradeoffs that should inform whether a downtown employee transportation assistance program moves forward and, if so, how it should be structured.

Councilmembers are encouraged to come prepared to discuss what public benefit would justify a subsidy, who should benefit, how costs should be shared, and how a potential program aligns with the City's broader downtown economic development, transportation, and financial sustainability goals.

The intent of the study session is not necessarily to select a specific program, but to provide policy direction that will help staff evaluate options, understand Council's appetite for financial and operational tradeoffs, and determine appropriate next steps.

Some things to consider as you review the information and prepare for discussion:

• Purpose and Desired Outcomes: What are we trying to achieve? Is the priority employee affordability, downtown business support, workforce recruitment, or broader transportation and parking goals?

• Equity and Eligibility: Who should qualify? Is there a size of business (number of employees) that should be targeted?  How do we balance support for downtown employees with fairness to other employees and residents who also have transportation and parking costs?  Where does the "downtown" area start and stop for a program like this, or is proximity to a public parking facility key?

• Transportation Goals: Would discounted parking encourage more driving downtown? Would transit discounts better support long-term transportation goals and preserve parking availability?  How do we balance parking availability for customers and short-term parking along with any downtown employee offerings?

• Financial Sustainability: Who pays for the subsidy? How do we balance affordability with parking revenues, future infrastructure needs, and minimizing taxpayer support?  

• Employer Partnerships: Should downtown employers contribute to employee transportation benefits rather than relying solely on City subsidies?

• Program Design: Should a program be limited, piloted, or periodically evaluated? How do we keep it simple to administer while maintaining flexibility as downtown transportation needs change?