San Bruno looks into parking meter solutions

The major problem behind the meters’ continued dysfunction was discovered to be faulty programming, where kiosks would never go into sleep mode, completely draining the batteries. Other issues — like the originally covered kiosks, kiosks being put in the wrong places and solar panels facing the wrong direction — were secondary, Johansen said Nov. 12. 

“The bottom line is no matter what we did with either or those or the other three or four problem identification stages we entered, none of it was going to solve the problem, because the problem was the programming on the controllers and the machines,” Johansen said. 

Now that the 83 kiosks have been individually reprogrammed and batteries are being replaced, Johansen insisted that the program was on the right track and the City Council should “see what happens through a few months of kiosks operating properly.” 

Additionally, the program is succeeding in the council-delineated goal of bringing parking occupancy rates in the downtown to 85% and increasing turnover, Johansen maintained. 

At its last meeting in December, the City Council decided that it would not be necessary to put a subcommittee in place to work on the issues it had elected staff look into — including potential Sunday exemptions, removal of certain paid parking requirements on El Camino Real, increased wayfinding images and seeking an alternative mobile pay application. 

“To me this is less transparent. All five of us heard comments, good, bad and in between. For me, I think all five of us should be here to hear it,” Mayor Rico Medina said. “Hopefully, on [Jan. 14], some things may be able to be brought back as well.” 

Rico Medina’s suggestion that the full council should be present to hear any parking-related issues was echoed by Vice Mayor Michael Salazar as well as Councilmember Sandy Alvarez. 

Councilmember Marty Medina, who broached the idea of creating an ad hoc parking committee, argued that it would be a more efficient way to gather feedback and work in tandem with staff. He’s been actively engaged with feedback from angry community members about the program’s various failures. 

“I am interested in serving on an ad hoc committee to assist staff in reviewing the proposed changes and obtaining community input to make improvements to the program,” he said. “It is time to take action. The number of modifications are large, and we need a timeframe to implement those.” 

But ideally, an update on some elements of the City Council’s previous direction will be provided at the first meeting of 2025, Marty Medina said. 

holly@smdailyjournal.com

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