Recent notice from Kansas City of new Street Parking policies. See the quote below (Still waiting to see the word from the city i.e., Press release, news article, or proposal/bill/ordinance)
The city is currently planning to introduce metered parking across the metro area, and it will include Westport, Country Club Plaza, residential neighborhoods nearby and in midtown, and other areas (18 & Vine, Crossroads, downtown nights and weekends, and areas near streetcar). As a Volker resident and/or business owner, would you like metered parking? Residential parking permits are apparently not being considered or offered for this metered parking expansion. Please cast a yes or no vote in the comments, and add any questions or comments you have. Several of us are meeting with the city tonight to discuss.
Ken Williams Volker Neighborhood Discussion Group
Edited to add: this will generate at least 4 revenue streams for the city – parking meter fees, parking tickets, towing and city tow lot storage fees, and revenue from auctioning towed vehicles after 30 days (no title required to auction).
My response:
thus encouraging options other than driving. No matter the system, we must ensure neighbors can still park and use the system. Neighborhood/resident identifiers/passes are essential in this plan. Of course, these businesses need non-residents to be able to patronize their establishment, too.
The details
I’d like to see more loading zones.
You mention towing. Unfortunately, the city is not considering this enforcement to help the citizens. Otherwise, they’d already be enforcing these things. With loading zones, we reduce the frequency of guests parking on crowded streets.
There are numerous zones that look like 11th and Main where the 3 or so loading zone spots in front of Cosentinos are always full of cars “Parked for the night.”
These would be a viable pickup location for revelers in power & light as well as visitors to the grocery. Not just people that stayed oh 5 minutes too long to do a quick pickup of milk, but people parked for hours.
We’re in an age where people take rideshare/cabs more than ever, yet instead, we say “drive.” Both by creating more parking and eliminating easy pickup and drop-off options. If there’s a bar or restaurant on the block, heck, a corner store, pharmacy, or high-density apartment on the block, there should be a loading zone within said block, and it should be enforced.
But, BACK TO YOUR QUESTION, what’s the problem, and what’s the solution?
Like above, I definitely like various time restrictions. 5-30 Minutes, 2 hours, 3-??? hours. In many areas, the issue seems to be people parking along the route to go to other places.
Until we have a streetcar everywhere, people will drive to it and park to leave from there.
I have thought about a supplement for pickups/dropoffs at intermodal points. Whether that is a discount to the passenger and/or a bonus to the driver who’s driving 5-12 minutes at a low ride density area vs. 12-30 minutes from a high-density venue like P&L, that seems like a great solution.
Granted, where does that payment come from?
People parking?
Bus fares if they return?
How close should the parking fees start?
If it’s too close, people will just walk 3 or 4 blocks to save. After all, that’s why they’re parking there instead of downtown.
How does that pay-to-park system compare to a time-based system?
A 3 to 5-hour time limit makes sense. Consider the ride. A 4-hour limit means waiting and riding the streetcar affords them the ability to party for what, 3 hours?
Yet, 4 hours also means someone can visit local things for 4 hours. NOTE: Per the America Nightlife Association, the average number of drinks per visit is 2.3. In theory, that means 1-3 hours of drinking plus, ideally, at least one of recovery.
(P.s. KC is discouraging neighborhood taverns. See my opinion that)
Ultimately, I think neighborhood passes should exist as they have in Volker and other neighborhoods.
However, I also think that something should be allotted to employees and visitors of the local businesses. A QR code that can be scanned so patrons can get 2 hours of parking and employees 10?
In consideration, WHAT IS THE GOAL?
Along West 39th, encourage people to use the garage? Vs.
Elsewhere, not be a leech that prevents other patrons from visiting the businesses while the leech goes elsewhere.
P.S….. double-edged sword; most concerts are long enough that a 3-hour parking time encourages parking elsewhere. Yes, that same 3-hour limit is also a bad time for bar patrons if they need to spend that 3rd hour sobering up. “On average.”
Notable, I used the Park KC app, which never warned about ballooning prices. I’m not sure if that was not in effect or not that night, but the signs warned it COULD BE. How do I know there is an event and if it will balloon.
That said, perhaps the app should be proactive. “Are you going to XYZ event?” “There is a garage/lot two blocks closer that has room and is $XX.XX. Then, the bar patron could scan the QR code if they’ve purchased at least two drinks and they are still there after 2 hours.
I will admit there might not be an app that does this, but it might be worth it if there is a request. I’m sure other cities & private lot operators utilize these apps. Thus, up-selling to customers & owners who want it while freeing up parking in areas where different customers and owners want is a win-win for the app.