Council directs staff to pilot event parking program at Fair Park, endorses fee‑and‑zone changes and pay‑by‑plate conversion

City transportation, public services and finance staff led an initial, in‑depth discussion of citywide parking policy and asked the council which issues to prioritize for code updates. Staff framed the conversation around issues identified in a 2022 parking study and operational problems reported by neighborhoods: current meter and fee structure, event impacts (notably Fair Park), delivery/service vehicle impacts, pay‑by‑space confusion, and citation structure/enforcement.

After council discussion staff recorded a set of council directions (straw polls) to guide next steps: start a pilot event parking management program with a priority to address Fair Park event impacts (administration will begin there and then apply lessons to other high‑impact neighborhoods such as the university area); pursue a comprehensive update to meter/fee structure including zone‑based pricing and tailored hours; convert pay‑by‑space to a pay‑by‑plate model (zone‑based rates with improved user interfaces and app options); and study delivery and loading‑zone policy options (staff to return with a more detailed analysis of options b and c, hybrid approaches that distinguish large commercial deliveries from ride‑share/delivery gig activity and propose enforcement/funding mechanisms). Council also asked staff to evaluate pay station footprint expansion and implementation resource needs, and to propose an implementation schedule and code updates.

On enforcement and citation structure the council asked staff to analyze citation levels and repeat‑offender enforcement tools (for example higher penalties for repeated violations in parklands) and to separate long‑term storage/48‑hour blockface rules for a later, distinct analysis because those regulations raise different operational and equity questions.

Staff said implementation will require ordinance changes, further fiscal analysis of revenue/resource tradeoffs, potential software and staffing investments and an outreach plan. The council endorsed moving forward with initial code drafting and prioritized the Fair Park event parking pilot as the first test case. Staff will return with specific code language, revenue estimates and an implementation timeline.