FAU Market Research individual projects.

1. City Search
South Florida’s # 1
Innovative Market Research Group
By:
Maeve Greenaway

2. Research Purpose
The purpose of the study is to analyze various issues pertaining to the parking
needs of tourists, residents, and small business owners of Delray Beach on
Atlantic Avenue (which we will refer to as our sampling population).
Currently, paid parking is not enforced west of the Intercoastal. Delray
Beach, along with many other towns have been suffering from economic
hardships and is determining if paid parking will help the Beach town’s
finances. Specifically, the research objectives are to:
• To determine if paid parking will financially benefit Delray
Beach;
• To determine the best method of paid parking;
• To determine how important price guarantees are to the
people parking in Delray Beach;
• To determine the demographics of the majority of the people
who visit Delray Beach;
• To determine the importance of Parking to Small businesses
on Atlantic avenue;
• To determine how paid parking has affected other beach
towns;

3. Research Design
The survey research will be administered face to face with a questionnaire to
a random sampling of 500 participants from our sampling population along
Atlantic Avenue. The questions cover a wide range of issues including:
• Identifying the most common parking methods used by
sample population;
• Obtaining the likelihood of the respondents adaptation to the
new parking enforcements;
• Determining the respondent reaction to paid parking;
• Identifying characteristics which influence the respondent
reactions.
• Finally, it will seek demographic and lifestyle information
about the respondent;

4. Limitations
Our data was collected on the basis that those surveyed were in fact
truthful and that the time and dates data was collected was representative
of the overall opinion and feelings of the average patron of Atlantic Ave in
Delray Beach.
The time of year may also impact the results being that it is “season”, the
time of the year when the “snow birds” come to their warm weathered
winter spots, and Delray Beach is well known as one of those destination
spots. So a “snowbird” surveyed may not have demonstrated the same
feelings of the average year round resident on the issue of paid parking.
Many other factors may have interfered with the survey and may have
altered the data collected. City Searchers promise is to give the most
accurate data given the constraints and limitations.

5. Secondary Research
Is paid parking going to drive away customers?
That is the very reason you hired us to find out. Below you will see how
other beach towns dealt with the same situation of enforcing paid parking
to their patrons.

6. Secondary Research
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Fort Lauderdale Beach is trying to make their beach free to
residents by giving them a free beach parking card. They have
separated their beach into sections and designating certain parts
to residents. Parking fees collected at their “North End” by
meters are dedicated to funding lifeguard protection.
This allows the city to increase public safety at its beach with no
cost passed on to its residents. Residents will be able to purchase
an annual plastic swipe card to use in the meters for $6/ year.

7. Secondary Research
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Myrtle Beach has meters where parking is in high demand (like
Delray Beach has done on Atlantic Ave). The meters are in affect
from March 15 through September 15 with varying hours. The
meters accept US coins and the pay stations accept credit cards.
The city then breaks down the system even more by designating
sticker colors on the meters to let the patrons know if they are
short or long term parking meters (Green means all day, Red
means up to 3 hours, Blue means less than 2 hours)
They also have a parking garage nearby (much like Deerfield
Beach does) where the rate also depend on the “season”.

8. Our Research
Delray Beach
Currently the city of Delray Beach has paid parking meters along
AIA and down Atlantic Ave just up until Swinton Ave.
The purpose of our research is to find out what would happen if
the city extended the paid parking all the way down Atlantic Ave
to just east of the interstate.
The city is also planning to introduce a “smart card
program” which will allow beach patrons to add money to a card
which will be used in the pay and display stations.

9. Sample Selection
The sampling procedure employed for the project
will be stratified sampling, a technique widely
used in such surveys.
Stratified sampling ensures representation of a
sample population within the population of
Delray Beach.
The quality of the surveys will determine the
successful implementation of stratified sampling.

10. Questionnaire
Sample Questions
The actual questionnaire used consisted of 16 questions of varying
scales
Our field workers went out and survey individuals ranging from
tourist to business owners along Atlantic Avenue to find out what
they thought about the possibility of paid parking being
implemented.
This research was conducted by 4 field workers and took place
over a span of 2 weeks. The field workers went at different times
of the day and different days of the week to get a variety of
perspectives.

11. Question 1
Which best describes the age
group that you are in?
a. 10-19
b. 20-29
c. 30-39
d. 40-49
e. 50-59
f. 60-69
g. 70-79
h. 80+

12. Question 2
Which best describes your
current status?
a. Single
b. Married with NO
children
c. Married WITH children

13. 16
Question 3 14
Are you currently a resident 12
of Delray Beach?
10
8
Series1
6
4
2
0
a. Yes b. No

14. 18
Question 4 16
14
Are you currently a business
owner/employee of Delray
Beach? 12
10
Series1
8
6
4
2
0
a. Yes b. No

15. Question 5
If you are a resident, when
do you typically reside in
Delray Beach?
a. During “season”
(months November-May)
b. During “off season”
(months June-October)
c. Year round

16. Question 6
What most attracts you to
Delray Beach?
a. Beaches
b. Friends/family
c. Hotels
d. Attractions
e. Events
f. Restaurants
g. Shops
h. Bars/clubs
i. Job

17. 25
Question 7 20
Do you currently use public
parking in Delray Beach?
15
Series1
10
5
0
a. Yes b. No

18. Question 8
Please rank the following
“times of day” by placing a _______ Early-morning
(3:00AM-9:00AM)
“1” in front of the time
_______ Mid-Morning
period you prefer to use the (9:01AM-Noon)
public parking at Delray _______ Afternoon
(12:01PM-4:00PM)
Beach, a “2” in front of your _______ Evening (4:01PM-
second 7:00PM)
_______ Night (7:01PM-
preference, continuing until 11:00PM)
you have ranked all the time _______ Late-night
(11:01PM-2:59AM)
periods.
_______All day parking

19. 18
Question 9 16
14
Do you agree that enforcing
paid public parking would
financially benefit the city of 12
Delray Beach?
10
Series1
8
6
4
2
0
a. Yes b. No

20. Question 10
If a paid parking system was
enforced, which would you
prefer?
a. Meter parking
b. Ticket parking
c. Resident parking pass
d. Daily paid parking
garages
e. Seasonal pass

21. Question 11
On a scale of 1-5, with 1
being the least important
and 5 being the most
important, please indicate
how important it is to have a. 1
free parking in Delray Beach b. 2
c. 3
in regards to your visit? d. 4
(Please circle the number e. 5
below).

22. Question 12
How important is it to you to
have a set price for parking
24/7?
a. Extremely important
b. Somewhat important
c. Neither important nor
unimportant
d. Somewhat unimportant
e. Not at all important

23. Question 13
Skip to question 14 if NOT a
business owner.
If you are a business a. Very positively
owner/employee of a
b. Somewhat positively
company in Delray
Beach, which best describes c. Neither positively nor
negatively
how you feel paid parking
d. Somewhat negatively
would affect your business?
e. Very negatively

24. Question 14
Would you still come to
Delray Beach if paid parking
was implanted?
a. Yes, I would definitely
continue to visit
b. I probably would
continue to visit
c. I may or may continue
to visit
d. I probably would not
continue to visit
e. No, I definitely would
not continue to visit

25. Question 15
Based on your answer to
question #6, how likely will
you continue to visit your
a. I would definitely
“favorite place” if paid continue to visit
parking was implemented? b. I probably would
continue to visit
c. I may or may continue
to visit
d. I probably would not
continue to visit
e. I definitely would not
continue to visit

26. 20
18
Question 16 16
If the set amount of paid
parking was proven to NOT 14
help increase the revenue of
the city of Delray 12
Beach, would you agree with
increasing the price for 10
Series1
parking?
8
6
4
2
0
a. Yes b. No

27. Conclusion
Results of Survey Indicate…
After 2 weeks of surveying our firm has concluded
to suggest that the City of Delray Beach does not
implement paid parking along Atlantic Avenue
due to the following findings.

28. Conclusion
Findings
Out of the patrons polled:
• 84% currently used Delray Beach parking
• 64% did not believe that paid parking would
help Delray financially
• 64% believed that it would actually hurt
businesses along the “Ave”.

29. Conclusion
Findings
40% polled chose either meter or ticket from pay station as their choice if in
fact paid parking was enforced, that the city would spend approximately
$13,000 on the product and labor costs of installing the meters.
Basing the calculations on the estimation of 50 new meters would be
installed and the hopes that the usual amount of traffic would be using
them; they would have to charge an extra $ .01 per minute just to break
even within the year.
The polled patrons of Atlantic Avenue were already unpleased on the rate
increase on the existing meters from 15 minutes/ $ .25 to 12.5 minutes/ $
.25 so we doubt they would like it to go down to receiving less time for
their money.

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City Search, Inc
All Rights Reserved