Expert Transportation, Parking Study Confirms AL Lang Site Well Suited for Tampa Bay Rays Waterfront Ballpark

03/11/2008, ST. PETERSBURG -- The Tampa Bay Rays announced today that a detailed transportation and parking study has concluded that the Al Lang site in downtown St. Petersburg is well suited for the Rays waterfront ballpark. During the team's 81 home game season, disruptions to the traffic and parking infrastructure would be minimal. Nearly 14,000 parking spaces that are likely to be available for the majority of ballpark events have been identified, a figure which does not include the nearly 7,000 on-street parking spaces that will remain available for downtown businesses, institutions and residents. Many of downtown's largest institutions have expressed an interest in working with the Rays to provide parking for ballpark patrons, including All Children's Hospital, Bayfront Medical Center, and the University of South Florida: St. Petersburg.

No major transportation infrastructure improvements are necessary to accommodate the ballpark and the number of uniformed officers at the new ballpark is expected to be similar to those currently at Tropicana Field. For 32 key intersections analyzed in the downtown area, only one (1) minor physical intersection improvement would be needed to accommodate the flow of inbound and outbound traffic before and after baseball games. Other minor operational changes would be required, but would be temporary, implemented before and removed after a ballgame.

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"Starting with Baltimore in the early 1990s, and including Cleveland, Denver, San Diego, Seattle, and San Francisco (among many others), cities have successfully developed major league ballparks in the downtown core. These ballparks have, in many cases, renewed activity in formerly blighted areas, or have served to enhance already vibrant downtown communities, similar to that within St. Petersburg. While each ballpark faced its own unique parking and transportation challenges, these challenges were overcome with effective planning and cooperation between the ball club, local officials, and area residents." said David Wallace, Partner-In-Charge for Rummel, Klepper & Kahl, LLP ("RK&K"), the consulting form who prepared the study.

RK&K is a consulting engineering firm based in the Mid-Atlantic with highly specialized expertise in parking and transportation planning for ballparks, arenas, and other sports venues and special event facilities. RK&K has overseen parking and transportation analysis on over 20 major event facilities in the past two decades, including Oriole Park at Camden Yards, M&T Bank Stadium, and Beaver Stadium. The study, which involved feedback from City, County, and State officials, included a detailed parking occupancy survey of available spaces in downtown St. Petersburg, an analysis of the relationship between existing parking locations and ballpark ingress and egress routes, a forecast of downtown traffic volumes during event conditions, an analysis of pedestrian circulation surrounding the ballpark site, and preliminary recommendations for how to mitigate potential conflicts.

As part of the study, a Transportation and Parking Task Force was established in January 2008 to bring together representatives of several of the key City, County and State agencies that would be impacted by the construction of a new ballpark, or which could provide valuable insight and data to help assess the feasibility of constructing the new waterfront ballpark. This task force, which met on multiple occasions during the preparation of this study, is viewed as the core group of individuals who would continue to meet on a regular basis to discuss ballpark-related transportation and parking issues if the proposal passes the City's referendum process.

"Ensuring convenient access and adequate parking for the ballpark and other downtown attractions is critical to the success of downtown St. Petersburg and the Rays. The Rays are committed to on-going coordination with the City of St. Petersburg, downtown residents, and institutions to minimize the traffic and parking impacts of the new ballpark and to attract new visitors to the downtown, its businesses, and its waterfront amenities," said Michael Kalt, Senior Vice President for the Rays.

This study provides more detail than a typical exploratory analysis that might be performed at the planning level of a proposed ballpark due to the rigorous requirements outlined by the City of St. Petersburg related to the referendum process. However, a comprehensive transportation management plan, documenting every detail of game day operations, will be completed in preparation for opening day at the new ballpark.

To view or download the Phase I Transportation & Parking Study, this press release and additional information related to the ballpark and redevelopment projects, please visit majorleaguedowntown.com.

The Phase I Transportation & Parking Study can also be viewed or downloaded at stpete.org.

Source: MLB