Idea for shuttle program gets into gear

Huntington Beach is looking to test-drive a free downtown shuttle program this summer to help relieve parking problems on the city’s busiest days of the year.

The program will free up more than 400 parking spaces on the weekends and some holidays for residents and visitors shopping and dining downtown, said Stanley Smalewitz, director of economic development.

“We know we’re not in the transportation business, but we know that parking is an issue in the downtown,” Smalewitz said.

A recent study on parking for the Downtown Specific Plan found the city couldn’t meet the parking demands on 35 days of the year, Smalewitz said. The shuttle would help relieve the parking problems by allowing users to park at the Civic Center on 2000 Main St. and then take them downtown.

The free shuttle is expected to make a loop, stopping at Main Street, Orange Avenue and the Strand for about 10 hours a day. Smalewitz said officials are looking for direction from businesses as to when the best times to run the shuttle would be.

While the shuttle will take visitors downtown, Smalewitz said it isn’t intended for beachgoers, who should still use the beach lots, but for people shopping or dining downtown.

Connie Pedenko, the executive director of the Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District, said she and her colleagues have been asking for a shuttle service for years and are excited it’s finally coming to fruition.

“We hope it’s going to help move people around,” Pedenko said.

The free service is expected to run on weekends and Memorial Day starting May 22 through Labor Day.

Staff are going to study the pilot program to determine whether it should be expanded on busier days, like the Fourth of July, and continued the following year.

However, the program is expected to cost an estimated $30,000, and the city is in a time of “budget cutting and frugality,” Smalewitz said. The Redevelopment Agency will be funding the program this summer, but it is unknown whether funds will be available again.

Despite the budget woes, staff are hoping the program will increase revenue for businesses and, in turn, increase sales tax revenue.

“If there’s a benefit to the businesses ... it’s a benefit to the community,” Smalewitz said.

The pilot program will be presented to the City Council at its meeting Monday.