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South Burlington staff outline paid-parking plan for city center to support businesses and public uses
Summary
City staff told the South Burlington Library Board they are collecting data and holding listening sessions to build a city-center parking management plan that would use public and private lots, likely use ParkMobile, and require city council approval to establish a special/enterprise fund.
Jesse, a staff member, told the South Burlington Library Board that the city is developing a parking management plan for the new city center and expects consultant recommendations by the end of the summer.
Jesse said the goal is to manage parking so that commercial businesses have turnover and the library, senior center, city clerk’s office and other public uses retain access. “One of the things that we have to do in order to make the commercial aspect of city center work is have paid parking,” Jesse said.
The city is still in a data-collection phase and is working with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission and a consultant, RSG, to map current parking supply and uses. Jesse said the inventory shows about 10,000 parking spaces across city center, though not all are immediately available to the public or clustered near the library.
Staff described a network approach that would include private surface lots in addition to on-street spaces. Jesse said the city hopes to partner with private property owners so those lots are managed and enforced as part of a single parking system rather than each owner running a separate system.
On technology, Jesse said the city is likely to use the ParkMobile app, which is already used in nearby Burlington, UVM and Winooski, and to provide alternatives for people without smartphones such as kiosks, a City Hall station, hang tags for senior-center members or other accommodations. “We may have kiosks. We may have a station in City Hall where you can log on to the computer…There may also be a hang tag option,” Jesse said.
Jesse said the city will analyze financials, including the cost of technology and enforcement, and is considering operating parking as an enterprise fund so users — not property taxpayers — pay costs. He cautioned that many municipal parking systems nationally are subsidized and that fine levels and enforcement practices strongly affect revenue: “the major revenue driver of parking systems isn’t actually your ParkMobile dollar…It’s the $25 ticket we give you when that expires,” he said.
Board members raised equity and operational concerns: how to ensure seniors, library visitors and school-related uses retain access; how to handle school pick-up and bus traffic; how to accommodate people without smartphones; and whether property-tax or other revenues might subsidize reduced or free parking for particular groups. Jesse said the team will hold listening sessions with the school, businesses, landowners, residents and staff in March and incorporate their input into the consultant report.
Staff also discussed transit. Jesse said the city has requested expanded Market Street and Shelburne Road service from Green Mountain Transit but that GMT is facing financial pressures and service decisions remain with its board. The city has added $60,000 to the FY2026 budget to support transit connections and currently contributes to regional transit funding.
Next steps: the consultant’s parking management plan and financial analysis are expected by the end of the summer, then any formal parking regulations, enforcement program and special/enterprise fund would go to the city council for ordinance and fund setup before implementation.
