Paid Parking in Snider Plaza Tabled for Continued Study

The University Park City Council voted unanimously on March 4 to table a controversial proposal to implement paid parking in most Snider Plaza spaces and on some nearby streets.

The council made its decision after more than two hours of at times heated discussion with residents, business owners, and members of the volunteer Snider Plaza employee parking task force, who recommended a $3 hourly fee to park.

Task force member Dallas Cothrum called paid parking the best of the available bad choices, but one that would solve the problem of where employees who work in the Plaza should put their cars. 

Parking in the Plaza is an issue almost as old as the shopping center itself. If employees park in the Plaza’s surface lot, they create a shortage of spaces for customers. But other parking spots that don’t clog up neighborhood streets come at an additional cost.

University Park has spent about $262,000 since 2021 to subsidize employee parking in the Hilltop Plaza parking garage during construction in Snider Plaza. But the city plans to stop paying for parking when work in the Plaza wraps up later this year, city manager Robbie Corder said during the meeting.

Task force members suggested that, once construction is complete, University Park implement paid parking in Snider Plaza for 18 months on a trial basis. The program’s revenue would be used to fund employee parking in offsite locations, and to pay for a parking management company that would monitor parking and enforce restrictions.

But paid parking was a tough sell for some residents, who said they wouldn’t pay to park, and for business owners, who said they’ve suffered during Snider Plaza’s construction and would experience additional strain.

“Why would I go to Snider Plaza now, if I’m going to have to pay for parking or use a goofy app?” asked Randee Parr Hefflefinger, a resident for more than 40 years who described herself as a big supporter of Snider Plaza. “I don’t want to pay for parking. I don’t know anyone in University Park who I’ve talked to — because I’ve talked about this a lot with all my friends and neighbors — who want to pay for parking.”

Susan Lewis with Logos Bookstore said the city needs time after the dust settles from Snider Plaza’s construction to enforce existing restrictions and evaluate the success of alternatives.

“To even consider a trial period of paid parking is to gamble with the merchants’ livelihood and their lives, and the future of Snider Plaza … We cannot sustain another blow,” she said. 

Business owner Copper Dallas called a trial period for paid parking offensive to businesses that have been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and a series of construction projects. 

“Eighteen months of hurting small businesses, considering the years we’ve gone through, is significant,” she said. “No one in there is a chain. Everyone in there is a small business, and we need the traffic of pedestrians.”

Before the vote, council member Phillip Philbin suggested that University Park wait and see if sales tax revenues increase after the completion Snider Plaza improvements, paid parking comes to comparable nearby shopping centers, or the city or businesses find alternative solutions to the center’s parking crunch.

Council member Melissa Rieman moved to table the proposal for continued study and future consideration.

Also during the meeting, the council:

• Heard from conservative Alex Stein, who spoke against paid parking. Stein called members of the volunteer task force derogatory names, and filmed at least some of his remarks with a cellphone.
• Received an update on the Stormwater Master Plan. Storm drain improvements on Turtle Creek Boulevard and some intersecting streets between Caruth Boulevard and Coffee Park could be split into several separate phases and proceed from south to north, director of engineering Katie Barron told the council.
• Approved a paver design for the intersection of Daniel Avenue and Hillcrest Avenue that features SMU’s pony mascot. SMU is helping to fund the intersection’s redo, which was approved at the council’s Feb. 4 meeting. Work on the intersection is slated to begin this summer.