St. Paul starts new street parking pilot program
St. Paul tests out new parking plan
As of Feb. 2, as soon as drivers enter the Payne-Phalen or Highland Park neighborhoods, road signs inform them of new rules in place to dictate street parking on some streets in the capitol city. With a few limited exceptions, From Feb. 2 through April 12, a new weekly alternating one-sided parking cycle is in effect.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - As of Feb. 2, as soon as drivers enter the Payne-Phalen or Highland Park neighborhoods, road signs inform them of new rules in place to dictate street parking on some streets in the capitol city.
With a few limited exceptions, From Feb. 2 through April 12, a new weekly alternating one-sided parking cycle is in effect.
New St. Paul street parking rules
What they're saying:
"It’s an okay idea," Highland Park resident Frank Stever said. "The jury is still out."
"I don’t know if it is really necessary. It maybe fixes a problem that doesn’t exist," resident John Ewem added.
"Residents in St. Paul were not happy with the streets and our plow drivers told us we can do a better job," St. Paul Public Works director Sean Kershaw told FOX 9.
Kershaw hopes these new rules will make it easier for snow plow drivers to keep the roads clean.
During the "even" weeks, vehicles must park on the side of the street with even-numbered addresses (typically located on the south and east sides of the streets). During the "odd" weeks, vehicles must park on the side of the street with odd-numbered addresses (typically located on the north and west sides of the streets). Sundays are the "changeover" days. Within the pilot areas, each Sunday between 3-9 p.m., people must move their cars to the other side of the street.
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In affected areas, snow emergency rules no longer apply; however, those rules are still in effect for the rest of the city.
"We know this is an inconvenience for neighbors. But, we have to try new systems. We’re listening to our plow drivers, we’re listening to our residents. We think this will work better and we’re going be working closely with those two neighborhoods to see how it went," Kershaw said.
City hopes to reduce parking ticket count
Why you should care:
Kershaw says his department’s goal is to issue fewer tickets. The first two weeks of the pilot program will serve as an educational phase.
"The goal of this is not to be punitive. We think the system will be less punitive," Kershaw finished.
"[For] folks who live in apartments or high-density housing, it’s going to be problematic," Highland Park resident Cheryl Stever countered.
"I foresee that people are going to get ticketed, because they’re not going to know what week they’re in," Frank Stever finished.