University Park council tables Snyder Plaza paid-parking proposal after hours of public comment

The University Park City Council on March 4 postponed action on a proposed managed paid-parking program for Snyder Plaza after heated public comment and extensive staff and task-force presentations.

City staff and the Snyder Plaza Employee Task Force presented a plan that would put monitored paid parking in the plaza, adjacent streets and nearby public spaces and use the revenue to subsidize employee parking off-site. David Rajabian, chair of the Snyder Plaza Employee Task Force, described the task force recommendation as an 18-month trial that would allow the city to collect data on parking behavior and adjust the program. "If a program is approved, it would be for a trial period of 18 months to see how it works," Rajabian said.

The task force’s proposal included several elements: paid parking in selected blocks of Snyder Plaza and nearby publicly managed lots; a rate framework the task force initially proposed at $3 per hour with the first 15 minutes free (staff later presented designated 20-minute free spaces on each block); a resident parking pass that would be free for the first six months of the trial; validation for participating businesses; and directing excess revenue to Snyder Plaza improvements. The plan also proposed continuing the volunteer task force…