A Letter From Kathleen: Parking at St. Paul’s

Parking….what a hassle, right?  Before the 525 building we had 23 spots in a small parking lot behind the Admin building and 6-8 spots (depending on how folks parked) in the gated Clergy Lot north of the Chapel.  Not a lot of spots for folks to use, to say the least.  As we know, with the new 525 Olive Tower, we have the bottom two floors of the “Tower” (as we are calling the 20-story apartment building side of the block) for our Administrative office and gathering spaces, as well as the commercial unit on 5^th AND (drumroll please) the 70 spots in the parking garage on B1 and B2 specifically for the Cathedral’s parking needs. 

Many want to know, “What is going on with parking now that we’re settled into the new space?”

Well, we’re glad you asked! We’ve been figuring it out ourselves. The Cathedral has, with the new development to the congregation, neighborhood and Tower folk, added a much needed resource to the area with the 70 spots we have. Managing the garage is a big task and we’ve engaged LAZ Parking to help us keep things safe, orderly and try to earn some revenue with this new asset the Cathedral stewards. We’ve spent the past few months working on the “ins and outs” of the spaces, their locations, and the number of spaces to use for various “categories” of parkers.  We’ve ordered additional signage that will help navigate one’s wayfinding in both the garage and around campus.  LAZ will be advertising on the corners of 5^th and 6^th at Olive to spread the word about the public parking opportunity at the garage. 

Here’s more information about Cathedral Parking:

• OPEN PARKING signs: There are 30 OPEN parking spaces for use by anyone during the opened vehicle gate hours.   In the parking business, these are called “transient” parking spaces that anyone can park in.  There is a fee to pay for days that we are not having a special event.  Sundays we’ve arranged free parking and have special signs up highlighting the congregational parking priority for our main day of worship.  Parking is always “first come first serve”. 
• FEES: The fees for parking are $5.00 for two hours and $10 for the all day or overnight rate.  There is a service fee of $0.35 and $0.45 respectively for the mobile transaction.  Currently the LAZ pay site says the garage closes at 7:30p, but we are adjusting things now that our access control punch list items are getting resolved. 
• PAYMENT: Paying for parking is done via a QR code obtained from signs around the elevators and entry/exit points of the garage. Remember to have your license plate number handy.  (Pro  tip: take a picture on your smartphone). Use your smartphone camera to focus on the QR code, touch the link to the payment app and select the time range you wish to park.  Follow the prompts for payment and you’re good to go. (Pro tip: LAZ Parking’s motto, “Pay. Park. Easy” is true! Download the app so it’s easy to use the next time you park at the Cathedral.   Search “LAZ Parking” in the App Store.) 
• OPEN VEHICLE GATE HOURS: (7a-7:30p M-F and 6a-7:30p on Sa/Su).  This schedule allows for folks to park and enter the garage, but not enter so late as to run into issues with returning to their cars within the Lobby and Courtyard Gate schedule.  It is also on this schedule for security purposes.
• ELEVATOR LOBBY and DEAN’S COURTYARD GATE HOURS: (8a-9:59p M-F and 6a-9:59p Sa/Su).  This schedule allows for folks to return to their vehicles after enjoying their campus meetings or restaurants in the area.  You can enter the Dean’s Courtyard via the 5^th Ave or 6^th Ave gates and head into the Administration Elevator Lobby (which will give you access to B1 and B2 parking), and or the Courtyard elevator (which only accesses B1).  You will be able to return to your cars and the vehicle gate will open automatically when you pull up close enough to it on the ramp when you leave.
• RESERVED SPACES: We have reserved spaces for MONTHLY PARKERS (12 total) and STAFF/Ministry Leader PARKING (20 total), and a few specifically reserved spots for folks like THE DEAN and  BISHOP only parking, and a few staff members. All of these spots have signs and are grouped together as best as we were able.  We believe this leaves the easiest to access spots available for the OPEN PARKING vehicles.  There are also:  HANDICAP spots on both B1 and B2, EV CHARGING (4 total on the ramp between B1 and B2).  Please be respectful of any reserved signs posted above the CATHEDRAL SHIELDS.  We’ve done our best to improve the legibility of the signage, and more signage is coming. 
• SPECIAL EVENT PARKING: When the parking garage is signed with the A-frame “SPECIAL EVENT” parking signs at the entry to the vehicle gate, that means the paid parking has either been arranged in advance through a rental agreement, or it’s one of the Cathedral sponsored events and we’ve turned the “pay” button off for the event. 
• SECURITY: We have 4-5 random security checks daily of the garage space by both LAZ’s monitoring of the property and our current overnight security vendor.  Going forward we will 2-3 in the day time/open gate hours and 2 post-gate closure/overnight.  We’re adding daytime full campus patrol as part of this new package for security. 
• MORE QUESTIONS?: Please feel free to reach out to Kathleen Burgess via email (burgessk@stpaulcathedral.org) with any other questions or concerns you may have.