Parking Pains

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. And 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.”

Business owner Copper Dallas called a trial period for paid parking offensive to merchants who have been hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and 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.”

Council member Phillip Philbin suggested that University Park pause its consideration of paid parking. He said the city should see whether sales tax revenues increase after Snider Plaza improvements are completed, if paid parking comes to comparable nearby shopping centers, or if the city or businesses can find other solutions to the center’s parking crunch.

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