El Camino Real Parking Survey

VTA has offered to install bicycle lanes along El Camino Real in areas that have dedicated bus lanes.  In order to accommodate the bicycle lanes, on-street parking may need to be removed.

In order to evaluate the effect of removing on-street parking on parking availability along the corridor, VTA conducted a parking survey.  The survey had two parts.  First, an inventory of parking spaces on El Camino Real, in private lots adjacent to El Camino Real and on side streets within 500 feet of El Camino Real was taken.  Second, aerial photos were taken of the corridor in the morning (7:00 to 9:00AM) midday (11:30AM to 1:30PM)  and evening (4:00 to 6:00PM) periods.  The flights took place in October of 2011.  Staff then counted the number of cars parked on El Camino Real, in private lots and on side streets to determine occupancy rates. The boundaries of the study are Autumn Street in San Jose and Embarcadero Road/Galvez Street in Palo Alto.

Overall, the survey found that on average, 25 percent of the 1,945 on-street parking spaces on El Camino Real were occupied, ranging from 5 to 49 percent by city. On average, 35 percent of the 2,798 side street parking spaces were occupied, ranging from 28 to 44 percent by city. Similar results were found with off-street parking as on average, 36 percent of the 23,290 off-street spaces were occupied, ranging from 30 to 56 percent by city. In general, it appears that capacity exists in off-street spaces and on side streets to absorb parking demand that currently exists on El Camino Real, though the precise impact of removing parking will vary depending on the variances in parking demand at certain locations.

The tables below show parking occupancy in on-street spaces (blue headers), side-street spaces (orange headers) and off-street spaces (yellow headers). Use the links below to jump to a specific table.

Overall on-street occupancy Overall side-street occupancy Overall off-street occupancy
Palo Alto on-street occupancy Palo Alto side-street occupancy Palo Alto off-street occupancy
MV/Los Altos on-street occupancy MV/Los Altos side-street occupancy MV/Los Altos off-street occupancy
Mountain View on-street occupancy Mountain View side-street occupancy Mountain View off-street occupancy
Sunnyvale on-street occupancy Sunnyvale side-street occupancy Sunnyvale off-street occupancy
Santa Clara on-street occupancy Santa Clara side-street occupancy Santa Clara off-street occupancy
San Jose on-street occupancy San Jose side-street occupancy San Jose off-street occupancy


Overall on-street parking occupancy by city
This table shows the morning, midday and evening periods averaged together.  Shaded cells note segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

City Total On-Street Spaces Average Spaces Occupied Percentage Occupied
Palo Alto 496 231 47%
Mountain View/Los Altos 137 38 28%
Mountain View 336 18 5%
Sunnyvale 337 85 25
Santa Clara 450 88 20%
San Jose 222 30 14%
Total 1,945 491 25%


Overall side-street parking occupancy by city
This table shows the morning, midday and evening periods averaged together.  Parking spaces within 500 feet of El Camino Real were included in the survey. Shaded cells note segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

City Total Side-Street Spaces Average Spaces Occupied Percentage Occupied
Palo Alto 692 246 36%
Mountain View/Los Altos 154 56 36%
Mountain View 373 163 44%
Sunnyvale 167 60 36%
Santa Clara 516 193 37%
San Jose 896 252 28%
Total 2,798 970 35%


Overall off-street parking occupancy by city
This table shows the morning, midday and evening periods averaged together.  Off-street spaces are those in private parking lots located adjacent to El Camino Real. Shaded cells note segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

City Total Off-Street Spaces Average Spaces Occupied Percentage Occupied
Palo Alto 3,355 996 30%
Mountain View/Los Altos 2,531 863 34%
Mountain View 3,512 1,047 30%
Sunnyvale 6,407 2,217 35%
Santa Clara 5,213 1,999 38%
San Jose 2,272 1,267 56%
Total 23,290 8,389 36%


On-street parking occupancy in Palo Alto

Occupancy Occupancy
Segment WB Spaces WB AM WB Mid WB PM EB Spaces EB AM EB Mid EB PM
Embarcadero to Churchill 0 0 0 0 73 75 78 -
Churchill to Serra/Park 21 5 10 0 29 28 28 0
Sierra/Park to Stanford 24 13 22 12 29 28 31 9
Stanford to California 30 8 21 13 22 6 8 6
California to Page Mill 18 13 17 7 0 0 3 9
Page Mill to Margarita 30 3 9 9 30 5 22 3
Margarita to Curtner 13 0 6 6 15 2 6 4
Curtner to Ventura 3 0 4 1 4 1 7 4
Ventura to Los Robles 8 6 4 1 9 6 9 7
Los Robles to Arastradero 31 4 19 14 44 10 13 5
Arastradero to Dinah’s Ct 16 15 14 4 13 9 8 2


On-street parking occupancy in Mountain View/Los Altos
Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy Occupancy
Segment WB Spaces WB AM WB Mid WB PM EB Spaces EB AM EB Mid EB PM
Dinah’s Ct to Del Medio 18 0 0 0 1 1 1 0
Del Medio to San Antonio 12 2 4 2 17 10 18 17
San Antonio to Showers 3 0 0 0 10 6 9 7
Showers to Ortega* 15 0 0 2 13 3 6 1
Ortega to Rengstorff* 12 0 0 0 28 0 0 0


On-street parking occupancy in Mountain View
Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy Occupancy
Segment WB Spaces WB AM WB Mid WB PM EB Spaces EB AM EB Mid EB PM
Rengstorff to El Monte* 38 0 1 0 36 0 0 0
El Monte to Castro* 42 0 8 4 47 2 5 1
Castro to Calderon* 29 5 7 4 30 0 1 3
Calderon to Grant* 22 1 4 0 21 2 0 4
Grant to Sylvan* 18 0 0 0 9 0 0 0
Sylvan to Bernardo* 0 0 0 0 44 1 1 1


On-street parking occupancy in Sunnyvale
Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy Occupancy
Segment WB Spaces WB AM WB Mid WB PM EB Spaces EB AM EB Mid EB PM
Bernardo to Grape* 7 0 0 0 8 14 15 8
Grape to Mary* 13 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
Mary to Hollenbeck* 16 2 5 3 13 20 22 18
Hollenbeck to Mathilda* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mathilda to Sunnyvale* 19 1 4 2 0 0 0 0
Sunnyvale to Cezanne* 28 0 0 0 0 1 2 0
Cezanne to Remington* 25 0 0 0 18 0 0 1
Remington to Maria* 37 3 5 5 50 9 12 14
Maria to Wolfe* 19 1 1 1 4 0 4 0
Wolfe to Poplar* 18 8 11 12 13 1 2 0
Poplar to Henderson* 10 8 8 6 16 8 7 8
Henderson to Halford* 6 0 0 0 17 0 0 0


On-street parking occupancy in Santa Clara
Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy Occupancy
Segment WB Spaces WB AM WB Mid WB PM EB Spaces EB AM EB Mid EB PM
Halford to Nobili* 25 1 7 1 14 0 0 0
Nobili to Kiely* 38 1 4 5 35 0 6 6
Kiely to San Tomas* 26 1 3 1 35 0 0 0
San Tomas to Los Padres* 7 3 0 0 6 3 11 6
Los Padres to Scott* 26 2 5 6 20 2 6 6
Scott to Lincoln* 24 4 9 7 21 0 1 0
Lincoln to Monroe* 18 1 2 4 17 1 2 5
Monroe to Lafayette* 17 3 7 8 22 6 8 8
Lafayette to SC Transit Center 0 1 0 0 60 2 6 5
SC Transit Center to Portola 4 0 0 0 35 21 32 36


On-street parking occupancy in San Jose
Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy Occupancy
Segment WB Spaces WB AM WB Mid WB PM EB Spaces EB AM EB Mid EB PM
Portola to Newhall 13 0 0 0 18 1 2 5
Newhall to Hedding 4 0 1 0 4 1 1 1
Hedding to Taylor 21 1 0 1 22 3 3 2
Taylor to Julian 52 7 2 5 35 1 3 6
Julian to Stockton 29 4 20 5 24 1 5 8
Stockton to Autumn 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0


Side-street parking occupancy in Palo Alto
Parking occupancy was measured within 500 feet of El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy
Street
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
Galvez (S of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
Embarcadero (N of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
Sam McDonald
0
0
0
0
Churchill
6
1
3
4
Miramonte
6
4
2
1
Serra (S of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
Park (N of El Camino)
7
6
8
4
Park Ave
4
2
4
2
Leland
3
0
0
0
Stanford (S of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
Stanford (N of El Camino)
14
2
2
0
Oxford (S of El Camino)
9
7
10
8
Oxford (N of El Camino)
4
1
4
1
College (S of El Camino)
6
1
5
1
College (N of El Camino)
34
21
29
12
Cambridge (S of El Camino)
10
3
8
6
Cambridge (N of El Camino)
23
5
12
11
S California (S of El Camino)
4
0
0
0
S California (N of El Camino)
33
13
27
22
Sherman
33
2
16
14
Grant
25
17
27
17
Sheridan
22
17
30
20
Page Mill (S of El Camino)
1
0
0
0
Oregon Expwy (N of El Camino)
23
6
9
9
Pepper
17
0
0
0
Olive
20
0
0
0
Acacia
11
0
0
0
Portage
6
10
9
9
Hansen
8
0
0
0
Lambert
29
14
24
14
Fernando
24
0
2
0
Matadero (S of El Camino)
11
4
2
4
Margarita (N of El Camino)
23
1
0
1
Matadero (N of El Camino)
26
3
2
1
Kendall
17
5
8
2
Wilton
26
0
4
0
Barron
9
0
1
2
Curtner
28
0
0
1
Military
10
2
5
6
Ventura
29
7
9
9
Los Robles (S of El Camino)
1
2
1
0
El Camino (N of El Camino)
19
8
12
10
Vista
9
8
6
8
Driscoll
0
2
1
2
Thain
0
2
1
2
Maybell (S of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
El Camino Way (N of El Camino)
8
7
13
10
Arastradero (S of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
W Charleston (N of El Camino)
10
0
0
0
Rickey’s
0
0
0
0
Deodar
13
0
0
0
Dinah’s Ct
21
11
9
10
Monroe
17
1
1
1
Los Altos (S of El Camino)
24
2
1
4
Cesano (N of El Camino)
33
3
1
9
Del Medio
16
7
8
6
N San Antonio (S of El Camino)
4
0
0
0
N San Antonio (N of El Camino)
0
0
0
0


Side-street parking occupancy in Mountain View/Los Altos
Parking occupancy was measured within 500 feet of El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy
Street
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
Sherwood
11
0
0
0
Showers
5
0
0
0
Jordan
10
4
2
2
Oretga
15
10
22
14
Distel Cir
50
11
27
19
Distel Dr
17
5
11
8
S Rengstorff *
2
2
3
0
Clark *
11
0
1
0
Escuela *
12
2
1
2
El Monte *
6
4
2
0


Side-street parking occupancy in Mountain View
Parking occupancy was measured within 500 feet of El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

 

Occupancy
Street
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
Rich *
10
7
7
5
Mariposa *
9
3
6
5
Pettis *
13
2
4
4
Palo Alto *
9
5
1
2
Mountain View (S of El Camino) *
14
2
4
2
Mountain View (N of El Camino) *
19
9
7
8
Miramonte (S of El Camino) *
3
0
0
0
S Shoreline (N of El Camino) *
10
0
0
0
Oak *
12
5
6
3
Castro (S of El Camino) *
15
5
9
5
Castro (N of El Camino) *
9
1
9
9
Hope *
13
3
2
2
Lane *
14
2
5
1
View *
16
1
4
3
Boranda *
19
2
6
7
Bush *
10
1
4
4
Bonita *
19
5
10
12
Ehrhorn *
18
6
8
3
Phyllis (S of El Camino) *
12
1
1
1
Calderon (N of El Camino) *
4
2
3
1
Montgomery *
0
11
9
10
Bay (S of El Camino) *
21
8
12
7
Bay (N of El Camino) *
11
11
11
9
Grant (S of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
Grant (N of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
Yuba *
9
21
28
15
The Americana (S of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
Sylvan (N of El Camino) *
5
2
3
0
Dale *
12
0
0
3
Crestview *
7
5
9
5
S Knickerbocker *
26
15
19
14


Side-street parking occupancy in Sunnyvale
Parking occupancy was measured within 500 feet of El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy
Street
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
S Bernardo (S of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
S Bernardo (N of El Camino) *
5
5
4
6
S Mary (S of El Camino) *
0
1
0
0
S Mary (N of El Camino) *
0
2
0
0
Hollenback (S of El Camino) *
11
0
0
0
S Pastoria (N of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
S Mathilda (S of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
S Mathilda (N of El Camino) *
0
3
2
3
S Taaffe *
3
1
1
1
S Frances *
3
2
1
3
S Murphy *
13
1
2
0
S Sunnyvale (S of El Camino) *
0
1
0
0
S Sunnyvale (N of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
Cezanne (S of El Camino) *
7
0
2
1
Cezanne (N of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
E Remington (S of El Camino) *
0
0
0
1
S Fair Oaks (N of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
Maria *
4
0
0
1
S Wolfe (S of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
S Wolfe (N of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
E Fremont *
0
2
3
3
Norman *
8
4
4
4
Poplar (S of El Camino) *
10
10
8
9
Poplar (N of El Camino) *
4
8
7
8
Henderson (S of El Camino) *
14
0
1
1
Henderson (N of El Camino) *
5
4
2
5
Sycamore *
11
2
2
2
Helen *
13
0
3
1


Side-street parking occupancy in Santa Clara
Parking occupancy was measured within 500 feet of El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

 

Occupancy
Street
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
Halford (S of El Camino) *
26
0
0
0
Halford (N of El Camino) *
22
10
17
12
Lawrence (S of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
Lawrence (N of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
Lawrence Station *
6
0
0
0
Flora Visita (S of El Camino) *
19
12
18
16
Flora Vista (N of El Camino) *
15
2
1
1
Nobili *
15
5
7
4
Pomeroy (S of El Camino) *
13
3
3
2
Pomeroy (N of El Camino) *
16
8
18
15
Calabazas (S of El Camino) *
22
17
14
10
Calabazas (N of El Camino) *
14
5
5
4
Alpine *
20
6
7
7
Kiely (S of El Camino) *
5
0
0
0
Bowers (N of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
Bowe *
0
0
1
0
Buchanan *
19
0
0
0
Morse *
19
0
6
4
Las Palmas *
16
2
1
1
San Tomas (S of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
San Tomas (N of El Camino) *
0
0
0
0
Los Padres (S of El Camino) *
7
0
0
0
Los Padres (N of El Camino) *
3
0
2
0
McCormick *
17
5
7
10
Scott (S of El Camino) *
8
2
0
0
Scott (N of El Camino) *
5
0
0
0
Pierece *
12
0
3
3
Isabella *
6
1
4
1
Lincoln (S of El Camino) *
15
3
3
5
Lincoln (N of El Camino) *
15
0
0
0
Jefferson *
11
5
5
7
Madison *
10
8
6
11
Monroe (S of El Camino) *
8
1
2
0
Monroe (N of El Camino) *
9
0
4
1
Jackon (S of El Camino) *
7
2
3
4
Jackson (N of El Camino) *
11
2
6
3
Main (S of El Camino) *
9
2
5
4
Main (N of El Camino) *
11
7
13
8
Washington (S of El Camino) *
5
4
5
4
Washington (N of El Camino) *
12
9
12
7
Lafayette (S of El Camino) *
2
0
0
0
Lafayette (N of El Camino) *
4
0
1
0
De La Cruz (S of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
De La Cruz (N of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
Harrison
8
2
7
4
Benton (S of El Camino)
3
5
6
8
Benton (N of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
Palm (S of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
Railroad (N of El Camino)
14
4
4
8
Accolti (S of El Camino)
35
0
0
0
Campbell (N of El Camino)
31
28
27
13
The Alameda
10
3
6
8
Chapman
12
8
6
6
Portola
17
3
7
11


Side-street parking occupancy in San Jose
Parking occupancy was measured within 500 feet of El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real/The Alameda where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy
Street
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
Idaho (S of El Camino)
25
1
4
6
Alameda (N of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
Newhall (S of El Camino)
22
0
4
5
Newhall (N of El Camino)
12
2
1
4
Alameda
10
5
5
5
McKendrie (S of El Camino)
23
0
2
2
McKendrie (N of El Camino)
28
1
1
2
S Hedding (S of El Camino)
13
1
1
4
W Hedding (N of EL Camino)
16
0
1
0
University (S of El Camino)
20
2
14
6
University (N of El Camino)
30
8
3
4
Emory (S of El Camino)
28
7
4
3
Emory (N of El Camino)
32
3
0
4
Asbury
21
0
0
0
Naglee (S of El Camino)
2
0
3
3
W Taylor (N of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
Randol
27
6
9
4
Villa
21
5
8
13
Fremont (S of El Camino)
13
5
8
11
Schiele (N of El Camino)
26
7
7
17
Singletary
25
3
6
7
Magnolia
22
10
8
10
Pershing
8
0
0
0
Hester
22
6
17
20
Lenzen
19
17
15
11
Shasta
30
3
10
7
Hanchett
27
9
8
9
W Julian
22
12
11
9
Martin
22
3
14
6
Race
11
6
10
8
S Keeble (S of El Camino)
13
6
10
4
N Keeble (N of El Camino)
33
0
8
7
Atlas
12
3
9
10
S Morrison (S of El Camino)
24
12
16
11
N Morrison (N of El Camino)
30
4
14
11
Cleaves
21
5
12
5
Rhodes
26
2
0
4
Sunol
11
1
8
5
Wilson
18
10
13
12
Bush
11
4
7
6
White (S of El Camino)
0
0
0
0
Stockton (N of El Camino)
11
9
12
17
Cahill
0
2
1
2
S Montgomery
33
6
4
3
S Autumn (S of El Camino)
24
2
2
2
N Autumn (N of El Camino)
52
0
0
0


Off-street parking occupancy in Palo Alto
Parking occupancy was measured in off-street private lots (like those in front of shopping centers) along El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

 

Occupancy
Segment
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
Serra/Park-Churchill
0
0
0
0
Stanford-Serra/Park
57
10
24
11
California-Stanford
245
72
222
118
Oregon/Page Mill-California
425
76
307
190
Margarita-Oregon/Page Mill
1556
179
506
321
Curtner-Margarita
105
9
61
36
Ventura-Curtner
78
18
53
31
El Camino/Los Robles-Ventura
81
41
66
57
Arastradero/Charleston-El Camino/Los Robles
334
82
177
109
Dinah’s Ct-Arastradero/Charleston
251
16
35
23
Del Medio-Dinah’s Ct
223
31
44
62


Off-street parking occupancy in Mountain View/Los Altos
Parking occupancy was measured in off-street private lots (like those in front of shopping centers) along El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy
Segment
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
San Antonio-Del Medio
514
39
251
116
Showers-San Antonio
1385
260
729
522
Ortega-Showers
317
78
126
135
Rengstorff-Ortega *
315
51
176
105


Off-street parking occupancy in Mountain View
Parking occupancy was measured in off-street private lots (like those in front of shopping centers) along El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy
Segment
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
El Monte-Rengstorff *
720
89
291
229
Castro-El Monte *
747
155
363
287
Calderon/Phyllis – Castro *
155
23
92
48
Grant-Calderon/Phyllis *
519
37
242
171
Sylvan-Grant *
400
90
232
53
Bernardo-Sylvan *
971
93
386
261


Off-street parking occupancy in Sennyvale
Parking occupancy was measured in off-street private lots (like those in front of shopping centers) along El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy
Segment
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
Grape-Bernardo *
483
71
248
156
Mary-Grape *
108
14
45
42
Hollenbeck/Pastoria-Mary *
781
69
421
247
Mathilda-Hollenbeck/Pastoria *
179
65
103
78
Sunnyvale-Mathilda *
627
114
413
352
Cezanne-Sunnyvale *
980
140
411
316
Remington-Cezanne *
947
125
394
326
Maria-Remington/S Fair Oaks *
949
153
533
443
Wolfe-Maria *
277
20
127
86
Poplar-Wolfe *
185
21
98
100
Henderson-Poplar *
235
24
118
63
Halford-Henderson *
656
92
382
242


Off-street parking occupancy in Santa Clara
Parking occupancy was measured in off-street private lots (like those in front of shopping centers) along El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy
Segment
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
Nobili-Halford *
1627
245
899
627
Bowers/Kiely-Nobili *
396
173
347
393
San Tomas-Bowers/Kiely *
1227
205
622
415
Los Padres-San Tomas *
211
52
152
101
Scott-Los Padres *
602
75
177
336
Lincoln-Scott *
160
51
100
59
Monroe-Lincoln *
16
0
9
2
Lafayette-Monroe *
121
17
73
46
SC Transit Center-Lafayette
222
74
106
95
Portola-SC Transit Center
631
158
229
160


Off-street parking occupancy in San Jose
Parking occupancy was measured in off-street private lots (like those in front of shopping centers) along El Camino Real in the AM, Midday and PM periods. Asterisked segments denote segments of El Camino Real/The Alameda where VTA has proposed dedicated bus lanes.

Occupancy
Segment
Spaces
AM
Mid
PM
Newhall-Portola
55
52
54
43
Hedding- Newhall
161
41
92
71
Naglee/Taylor-Hedding
184
119
118
100
Julian-Naglee/Taylor
814
244
239
386
Stockton/White-Julian
318
106
309
192
Autumn-Stockton/White
740
503
584
547