CC SR 20221004 02 - ParkMobile Options
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 10/04/2022
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to modify the ParkMobile parking system on Crenshaw
Boulevard, south of Crest Road.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Review and provide direction on the following potential options to modify the
ParkMobile parking system:
a. Convert the ParkMobile parking system to an on-demand model.
b. Retain reservation-based parking based on three-hour time blocks and modify
the rate to park.
c. Retain reservation-based parking and modify the duration of time blocks.
d. Extend the current 2-hour free weekday block of time to a 3-hour free weekday
block of time.
e. Make no change to the ParkMobile parking system at this time.
(2) Authorize staff to issue a survey to visitors parking in the area to better understand
the challenges experienced with the ParkMobile parking system; and,
(3) Direct staff to return in six months with more information on the Council’s preferred
options and survey results to determine if and how to proceed with modifications
to the ParkMobile parking system.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Dan Trautner, Deputy Director, Recreation and Parks Department
Matt Waters, Sr. Administrative Analyst, Recreation and Parks
Department
Katie Lozano, Sr. Administrative Analyst, Recreation and Parks
Department
REVIEWED BY: Cory Linder, Director, Recreation and Parks Department
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
A. Public correspondence (page A-1)
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B. August 16, 2022, staff report
C. City Council Policy No. 2 (page C-1)
D. Parking Citation Information (page D-1)
BACKGROUND:
In July 2021, the City implemented the ParkMobile parking system on Crenshaw
Boulevard, south of Crest Road. This is the primary parking area of the Portuguese Bend
Reserve which is the City’s most popular trailhead within the City-owned Palos Verdes
Nature Preserve (Preserve).
ParkMobile was implemented to mitigate negative traffic conditions and impacts on
surrounding neighborhoods. The current parking system requires advanced reservations
to book a space in a designated zone. This advanced reservation requirement was
purposefully implemented to control traffic and behavior on Crenshaw Boulevard, south
of Crest Road, by encouraging only visitors with reservations or Residential Recreational
Parking Permits to drive on this part of Crenshaw Boulevard, closest to the residential
neighborhoods. Reservations originally had to be made one day in advance when the
system went live in July 2021. However, this advanced requirement appeared to be a
deterrent, and so the City Council directed Staff to reduce the advance reservation
requirement to one hour in December 2021. Between the period of August 2021 and July
2022, approximately 7% of ParkMobile parking spaces on Crenshaw Boulevard, south of
Crest Road, were occupied. Overall, this resulted in a significant reduction in traffic and
parking.
Since the implementation of ParkMobile, the City Council has tasked Staff with making
the system more user-friendly and palatable to create a balance between protect ing the
neighborhood’s quality of life, controlling negative traffic impacts, and providing
appropriate parking access to Preserve visitors at this location. Some of the changes to
the system have included the shortened advanced reservation window, creating simplified
access to the ParkMobile reservation link, improved instructional signs, and removing the
Recreational Residential Parking Permit parking stalls next to Del Cerro Park from the
ParkMobile parking system.
On August 16, 2022, the City Council received an update on the ParkMobile parking
system, including usage statistics, and directed Staff to explore modifications to the
system. The Council directive included to consider removing the advanced reservation
requirement by making ParkMobile an on-demand parking system. The Council directive
was based on a common complaint about the system being difficult to use, likely because
making an advanced reservation takes more of a time investment, may be unknown to
some visitors, and is an uncommon public parking system model. Staff has also heard
from members of the public that they prefer to park for free. Additionally, Staff recently
reviewed several parking citation appeals which provided some insight on the challenges
visitors experienced with the ParkMobile parking system (Attachment D).
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Since the August 16 City Council meeting, Staff has met twice with the Del Cerro
Homeowners Association (HOA) to discuss potential impacts modifications to the
ParkMobile parking system could have on the surrounding neighborhood and to identify
an agreeable approach to balancing the Preserve parking and neighborhood quality of
life. The Del Cerro HOA’s suggestions, as described in their attached letter (Attachment
A), have been considered in the discussion analysis for the City Council’s consideration
this evening.
DISCUSSION:
1) Review and provide direction on the following potential options to modify the
ParkMobile parking system:
a. Convert the ParkMobile parking system to an on-demand model.
The advanced reservation parking model implemented on Crenshaw Boulevard, south
of Crest Road, is an uncommon public parking system model. Public parking areas do
not usually require an advanced reservation for parking stalls. City Staff and
ParkMobile believe an unintended consequence of this reservation requirement is that
it deters a significant number of visitors from using the ParkMobile parking spaces
since there is little desire to plan for parking in advance of a visit.
In considering transitioning to an on-demand parking model, Staff recommends
keeping as many of the existing parking conditions in place as possible to prevent a
potentially rapid increase in the use of this area. Under this option, visitors would pull
into their desired space and pay to park. Time blocks would remain a static three-hour
block, and the price for parking would remain $10.35. Furthermore, visitors could
extend their parking time in one-hour increments at a prorated cost. Visitors would
also be able to leave their parking spot prior to their three-hour parking block, and the
parking space would become immediately available. When a car leaves a stall,
whether at the three-hour time block or before, the ParkMobile sensor in the ground
senses the vehicle has left, and the stall will appear as available on the ParkMobile
app and website. Under the previous reservation -based parking model, the parking
reservation remained unavailable during the entire reserved three-hour block of time,
regardless of what time the vehicle left the stall. Taking the stall offline during the entire
three-hour block was partly intended to reduce traffic churning in this area.
Should the City Council decide to transition to an on-demand parking system, there
would be no additional cost for ParkMobile services. However, the City would be
required to modify the services agreement with ParkMobile. This modified agreement
could be brought back for City Council consideration at a future meeting.
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b. Retain reservation-based parking based on three-hour time blocks and make
modifications to the rate to park.
This option considers retaining the reservation-based parking model while
modifying the rate (cost) per 3-hour block of time. The current parking rate is
$10.35 for a 3-hour block of time which includes administration fees.
c. Retain reservation-based parking, make modifications to duration of time
blocks.
This option considers retaining the reservation-based parking model while
modifying (decreased or increased) the time block durations offered. Currently the
average length of stay is approximately 1.5 hours.
d. Extend the current 2-hour free weekday block of time to a 3-hour free
weekday block of time.
This option considers extending the free block of time by one hour. Staff has
observed limited use of the free parking period from 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. on weekdays.
Providing a 3-hour free time block would provide more flexibility for visitors wishing
to utilize the free weekday period.
e. Make no change to the ParkMobile parking system at this time.
Should the City Council direct Staff not to modify the ParkMobile parking system,
Staff will closely monitor public use of the area and any emergent negative
impacts. This option would also enable Staff additional time to conduct a survey,
as discussed in the next subsection, of visitors parking in the area and to provide
weekly updates to the City Council and the public through the City Manager’s
Weekly Administrative Report for consideration at a future meeting.
2) Authorize staff to issue a survey to visitors parking in the area to better
understand the challenges experienced with the ParkMobile parking system
Staff is proposing to develop a survey to be released in late October to help the City
better understand the experience of visitors to this area. The survey would be created
using the City’s SurveyMonkey account and distributed via the ParkMobile website
and mobile app (an available feature), the City website, and by hard copy to visitors
(pending staff scheduling). While the City has received some feedback from the public
via verbal comments and emails, a survey would provide additional data on user
experience. This additional user feedback may also help the City to continue to tailor
the ParkMobile parking system to meet user needs while controlling access in the
area.
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Per City Council Policy No. 2, any City survey provided to the public shall first be
approved by the City Council (Attachment C). This evening, the City Council is being
asked to approve the draft survey questions below (with any desired revisions):
1) Are you here today to visit the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve (Portuguese Bend
Reserve or Filiorum Reserve) or Del Cerro Park?
2) How often do you visit the Preserve?
o Daily
o Weekly
o Monthly
o Weekends only
3) Please select the activity or activities that brought you here today.
o Hiking
o Biking
o Horseback riding
o Dog walking
o Other – please specify
4) What is your zip code?
5) Where did you park today?
6) Were parking instructions easy to follow?
7) What changes do you suggest me made to the parking system?
8) In your opinion, what is Preserve/park management doing well?
9) Where can Preserve/park management improve?
10) Any additional feedback.
Should the City decide to disseminate surveys through the ParkMobile app or web
platform, there would be no additional cost to the ParkMobile agreement.
3) Direct staff to return in six months with more information on the Council’s
preferred options and survey results to determine if and how to proceed with
modifications to the ParkMobile parking system.
While the City already has received public feedback through visitor contacts,
contested citations, and emails, issuing surveys would provide the City with additional
insight from visitors using the ParkMobile parking system. In formation gleaned from
the surveys is considered an additional tool to help guide decisions on changes to and
management of the ParkMobile parking system. To be most effective in collecting
information, it is recommended that a period of at least six months be spent
disseminating the survey. Thus, it is recommended that Staff return to the City Council
after six months with survey results and information on the Council’s preferred options.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Del Cerro HOA Coordination
City Staff met with the Del Cerro HOA on September 15 and September 23 to facilitate
communication and continue coordination on ParkMobile implementation, and to discuss
potential changes to the parking system. The Del Cerro HOA has also submitted formal
comments sharing its position, concerns, and suggestions (Attachment A). Some key
thoughts and concerns are listed below:
• Strong concern that moving to an on-demand parking model for all ParkMobile
parking areas in the immediate future may bring back negative traffic and quality
of life issues for Preserve neighbors.
• Concern that removing the mandatory three-hour reservation time block will
significantly increase negative traffic and quality-of-life issues.
• Requiring advanced reservations is the most effective way to prevent people from
creating negative traffic impacts while searching for an open parking stall.
• Having the Burma and Rattlesnake gates installed prior to making changes to the
ParkMobile parking system is important to control afterhours Preserve use.
• Having adequate parking enforcement presence onsite is critical to controlling
negative traffic and parking behavior.
Revenue/Expenditure Information
The table below outlines total revenue and expenditures related to the parking program,
including startup costs, monthly payments to ParkMobile, revenue payments, and
enforcement costs and supplies.
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Parking Enforcement
Parking enforcement presence is crucial to the success of the ParkMobile parking system
and will become even more critical if changes are made to the program. Parking
Enforcement Staff is responsible for making public contacts and educating the public on
how to use the ParkMobile parking system. Staff is also responsible for correcting and
issuing citations for violations. The Parking Enforcement program is budgeted for three
part-time Parking Enforcement Park Rangers who are allowed to work up to 28 hours per
week. Coverage is prioritized for weekends and holidays, during which the Preserve
experiences peak public use.
At this time, the City has had challenges staffing the part-time Parking Enforcement Park
Ranger position. This includes challenges recruiting and retaining individuals with a high
turnover once an employee is hired and trained. The City continues to actively recruit for
this position with limited success. It is important to emphasize the need to fully staff these
positions to manage the ParkMobile parking system, and any proposed changes.
Burma and Rattlesnake Gates
The purpose of these two gates is to prevent afterhours use of the Preserve. Preventing
afterhours use is important because it focuses public use during the time when Park
Rangers are on duty and ready to respond to public safety or misuse issues, it protects
natural resources by giving the wildlife within the Preserve a “break” from disturba nces
associated with public use, and it helps preserve neighbors’ quality of life by reducing
early-morning noise, and late-night illegal activity in and around the Preserve.
The City installed a vehicle and multiuse gate at the Burma Road Trailhead in November
2020. The gate was damaged on two occasions by vehicles in July and September 2021.
Staff is in the process of reinstalling the gates and including bollards to protect the Burma
Road Trailhead gate from future vehicle damage, while still allowing authorized vehicle
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access to the Preserve. As of the writing of this report, bids to manufacture the Burma
Road Trailhead gate and the associated bollards were expected by the end of September,
provided there is sufficient contractor availability. Staff anticipates bringing a contract to
the City Council for consideration on October 18, 2022, and completing the Burma Road
Trailhead gate installation by the end of 2022, subject to contractor availability.
The City Council additionally approved an access ga te at the Rattlesnake Trailhead off
Crenshaw Boulevard north of Del Cerro Park. The specific location of the gate is on
property owned by the Island View HOA, and for this reason, the City and HOA needed
to enter into a joint agreement prior to installation of a gate. An agreement was approved
and finalized in July 2022. The project was placed out to bid in August 2022. As of the
writing of this report, bids were expected by the end of September, subject to contractor
availability. Staff anticipates that the gate manufacturing and installation will be complete
in summer 2023.
Traffic Study
The City is in the process of conducting a traffic calming study on Crenshaw Boulevard
(north and south of Crest Road) and on Park Place. This study is anticipated to begin in
December 2022, subject to filling key staff vacancies in Public Works.
Public Correspondence
Staff has received the attached public correspondence related to this City Council agenda
item (Attachment A).
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends the City Council review and provide direction on potential options to
modify the ParkMobile parking system; authorize staff to issue a survey to visitors parking
in the area to better understand the challenges experienced with the ParkMobile par king
system; and direct staff to return in six months with more information on the Council’s
preferred options and survey results to determine if and how to proceed with modifications
to the ParkMobile parking system.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Direct Staff to implement one of the ParkMobile parking system options above but
to delay implementation until the Burma and Rattlesnake Gates have been
installed.
2. Direct Staff to implement one of the ParkMobile parking system options above and
implement the change immediately.
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9/26/2022
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Proposed Changes to Crenshaw Blvd. Parking Reservation System
To the RPV Recreation, Parks, and Open Space Staff:
Del Cerro HOA appreciates the information Staff has provided to us regarding a recommended
parking-on-demand system on Crenshaw Blvd. and for discussing possible implementation
alternatives with us.
We understand the City’s desire to achieve a balance between visitors’ desires for convenient
parking adjacent to the preserve and neighbors’ need for a safe, quiet and peaceful quality of
life. However, we have concerns with the City’s current proposed plan to implement a parking-
on-demand system on Crenshaw.
Below is a summary of our concerns as well as suggestions for a path forward to help achieve
the City’s objectives.
Impact of Parking-on Demand System as Recommended by Staff
While the City Council and Staff have evaluated numerous approaches to mitigate the traffic
and parking problems Del Cerro area residents have experienced over the last several years, the
current parking reservation system is the only one that has been implemented and effectively
improved traffic safety and restored peace and quiet to the neighborhood. The measures
implemented by the City have eliminated idling cars that impede traffic while waiting for
parking places and cars backing up or making U-turns to fill parking places that become
available. The existing parking system has also dramatically reduced noise from the constant
churn of visitors (loud voices, slamming doors, setting horn-honking car locks, etc.).
In our view, the two most critical system components for mitigating the traffic impediments
caused by cars waiting for parking places are the advance reservations and pre-set 3-hour
reservation time blocks, both of which will be eliminated by the proposed changes to the
system. The advance time required to obtain reservations has previously been reduced to one
hour before arrival time – which seems to be a minimal time that visitors would need to plan
their visit.
The pre-set 3-hour time blocks would be eliminated under a parking-on-demand system as
currently envisioned; parking will essentially be on a first come, first served basis. While visitors
would have to pay for a 3-hour time slot, if they leave before the end of the period, the parking
space will become immediately available for another visitor who will be able to book a 3 -hour
period beginning at the time of payment. In effect, the time blocks in the parking-on-demand
system become just a pricing mechanism, not a way of limiting traffic churning as in the current
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9/26/2022
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system. We are concerned that the result will be continuous churning throughout the day as
there will no longer be a defined transition period between reserved time blocks.
The proposed parking-on-demand system will effectively turn Crenshaw Blvd. into a traditional
parking lot. When traditional parking lots are near full, it is common practice for people to wait
in their cars near the entrance to the lot or at various places within the lot for someone to
return to a car, ask if the person is leaving and where he/she is parked, and follow the person to
the car to gain access to the parking spot. This practice does not particularly create an unsafe
traffic situation in a parking lot where cars are either parked, idling, or moving at less than 5
mph. However, Crenshaw Blvd. is an arterial road with a 40 -mph speed limit, and we frequently
saw the impact of the idling cars and cars making unsafe maneuvers in traffic lanes before the
current parking reservation system was implemented.
Recommendations
• Survey Potential Users
At this stage, we and Staff are collectively making a lot of assumptions about the limited
parking on Crenshaw without a clear understanding of those causes – i.e., why fewer
visitors than expected are using the current parking spaces. To obtain a clearer
understanding, we recommend that Staff take 2 months to survey the actual and
potential users (i.e., people who are successfully making reservations, those who are
arriving without reservations and attempting to obtain a space, and those who choose
to park in the free zones) and return in January with survey results and
recommendations based on the survey data for further action.
The current reservation system is composed of multiple parameters that are set by
ParkMobile in consultation with Staff to achieve desired goals. Perhaps a better
understanding of visitors’ concerns would enable us to modify or loosen one or more
parameters within the existing system to improve usage without abandoning the
current parking reservation system to create a totally new parking scheme that may or
may not achieve the City’s desired outcome. As you are aware, over the last few weeks,
we’ve discussed numerous ideas to help prevent a recurrence of previous problems.
However, each one has been deemed infeasible in the proposed parking-on-demand
approach. With additional time and knowledge of the user desires as well as system
parameters, we may be able to find a solution that addresses the City’s desire to achieve
a better balance of user desires and neighborhood needs.
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9/26/2022
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• Install Burma Rd. and Rattlesnake Trailhead Gates Before Changing the Parking
System
If Council decides to go ahead with elimination of advance reservations without further
review, we feel it is imperative that the Burma Rd. and Rattlesnake Trail gates are
installed and operational before changes to the parking system are implemented. As
you may recall, the need for the gates was established long before traffic and parking
conditions became completely untenable in the early days of the pandemic. They are
intended to keep visitors from roaming the preserve at night after the preserve is closed
and entering before the preserve opening time of 7 am, causing concerns about the
safety of residents and loss of peace and quiet during nighttime and early-morning
hours.
Burma Rd. gate was approved in July 2018, installed in November 2020, and then
severely damaged to the point of inoperability in the summer of 2021 after 7-8 months
of operation. A new gate and protective bollards are now scheduled for installation at
the end of 2022. The Rattlesnake Trail gate was approved in January 2019 and a
contract to build the gate is scheduled for review by Council next month and installation
in the summer of 2023.
While the volume of visitors has returned to pre-pandemic levels, the need for the gates
hasn’t diminished.
• Hire Necessary Staff for Effective Enforcement
The City also needs to hire and maintain adequate staffing levels for the education and
enforcement of the parking rules before implementing changes to the parking system.
Despite continued efforts to hire appropriate personnel, Staff has struggled to maintain
the staff level that will be needed to manage the parking conditions if parking is
significantly increased. The proposed parking system changes that are intended to
increase usage will require substantial education outreach and full-time enforcement
coverage during an extended transition period and likely continuing indefinitely. Our
discussions with people who arrive in the parking zone indicate that most are first-time
visitors who are unaware of the parking system – even though the system has been in
place for over a year. Given the large population of LA County (and beyond), we believe
this is a steady-state condition that is likely to continue.
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• Start with a Pilot Program
Once viable parking system options that balance the desires of visitors and the needs of
residents are developed and a path forward is approved, we recommend that the City
implement a pilot program to determine impacts on a limited scale and try mitigation
measures, if necessary, before full implementation, with appropriate success criteria
established and results measured against those criteria - for example, implementation
on weekdays but not on weekends, or on certain times of the day.
Thank you for your consideration of our comments. We look forward to continued discussions
with Staff as we move through this process.
Respectfully submitted,
The Del Cerro HOA Board:
Kathy Edgerton
Megan and Bob Moore
Miriam and Pete Varend
Dion Hatch
Mark Kernen
Gregory MacDonald
Irene and Brandon Lee
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M:\Citizen Satisfaction Survey\COUNCIL POLICY 02_Questionnaires Sent to the Public (19920204).docx
CITY COUNCIL POLICY
NUMBER: 2
DATE ADOPTED/AMENDED: 02/04/92
SUBJECT: Questionnaires sent to the public by City Council, Committee/
Commission(s) and Staff
POLICY:
It shall be the policy of the City Council that all questionnaires and/or surveys to
be sent by the city to the general public or special groups, whether generated by
Staff, City Council or Committee/Commission(s), be authorized by the full City
Council at a public meeting.
The City Manager shall be authorized, however, to approve any questionnaires
and/or surveys for information to be sent to other public agencies.
BACKGROUND:
The City Council recognized the need to establish a policy to control
questionnaires and surveys for information that are sent or delivered to the general
public and special interest groups.
C-1
Citation Issue Date Violation Reason for Contesting
8/7/2021 Reservation Parking/Park by Permit Signs are small and work trucks blocking signs
9/15/2021 No Parking Permit Can't afford to pay the ticket, parked for 10 minutes, small signs
9/23/2021 Metered Parking Zone/Park Hours Park opens 1 hour before sunrise/reserved 7am-8:45am
9/25/2021 Metered Parking Zone/Permit/Reservation All cars had tickets parked in area/difficult to understand rules
10/23/2021 Metered Parking Zone/Permit/Reservation Previously free parking changed without notice/Poor signage
10/24/2021 Metered Parking Zone/No Permit/Reservation Trouble making reservation/thought Sunday was exempt
11/3/2021 Blocking Disabled Access Ramp Parking space not marked as handicapped
11/16/2021 Metered Parking Zone/Permit/Reservation Tried to reserve at 3pm for 3pm slot/only 1 other car there
12/4/2021 Metered Parking Zone Has handicap placard and can't afford to pay the ticket
1/16/2022 Metered Parking Zone Unable to reserve desired time slot-selected next available slot
1/16/2022 Metered Parking Zone/Permit/Reservation App not allowing to pay for desired time/please check system
2/5/2022 Metered Parking Zone Made reservation under old license plate #
2/27/2022 Metered Parking Zone Park Mobile App indicated zero dollars due for reservation
2/28/2022 Metered Parking Zone/Permit/Reservation Signs posted free parking weekdays 7am-8:45am/sited at 7:20am
2/28/2022 Metered Parking Zone/Permit/Reservation Signs posted free parking weekdays 7am-8:45am/sited at 7:30am
3/9/2022 Metered Parking Zone No clear designation of parking meter zone from vehicle
3/13/2022 Metered Parking Zone/No Permit/Reservation Made reservation under old license plate #
3/26/2022 No Parking Permit The person is a RPV resident and active part of the community
3/28/2022 Metered Parking Zone/Permit/Reservation No way to pay for parking without a cell phone/discrimination
4/17/2022 Metered Parking Zone Made reservation under wrong license plate #
5/6/2022 Registration Required Can't get car smog checked/car was wrecked now in driveway
6/15/2022 No Parking Permit Lost job/unable to pay/ had temporary handicap placard
7/24/2022 No Parking Permit Another car was parked in area and Ranger didn't cite them
Parking Citation Information
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