‘Parking district’ proposal may solve South Congress parking woes

The dicey parking shuffle on South Congress is about to get a bit more predictable, thanks to the city’s Transportation Department.

City Council’s Mobility Committee rang in 2023 with the welcome announcement that a new South Congress Parking & Transportation Management District, if approved, will bring an expanded paid parking program to the area in just a few months. The plan would institute meterless paid parking clustered mainly up and down South Congress Avenue, as well as “hybrid” zones of shared paid parking and residential permit space throughout the surrounding neighborhood.

SoCo’s shoppers, diners, workers and neighbors have for years bemoaned the district’s unreliable parking infrastructure, which has seen little improvement since the back-in angle parking project. A parking study conducted in 2019 largely confirmed these frustrations, finding high demand with little turnover, inconsistent rules, poor wayfinding and underused side-street space all contributing issues.

“There are currently some two-hour time-limited zones put in by request here and there, but it’s not comprehensive,” Mobility Demand program manager Joseph Al-hajeri said. “Residential permit parking is also inconsistent, with a lot of different time zones, so it’s difficult for the public to understand where they can and cannot park. We hear a lot of business and merchant employees are having a difficult time.”

In response, staff are developing a program based on successful parking and transportation management districts in West Campus, East Cesar Chavez, Mueller, and the Colorado River area, each of which reinvest nearly half of collected revenue into transportation improvements within the district’s boundaries. The proposed district would stretch from Riverside Drive to Oltorf Street, bounded by Interstate 35 and the Union Pacific Railroad, which runs north-south just east of South Lamar Boulevard.

Within the district, spots on and around South Congress and around South First would be reserved for hourly paid parking, while neighborhood streets in between would do away with underused residential permit zones, replacing them with spots available both to paying visitors and permit-holding neighbors and employees. Staff are also discussing abandoning meters in favor of new digital payment software, though they have yet to announce details.

“The hybrid approach really allows us to stretch the curb in a way that is efficient,” said Al-hajeri, who pointed to a pilot program at Woods of Westlake as evidence of its success. “We’ve learned a lot and hope to steward something at South Congress that could layer in employee parking and an affordable parking program on-street rather than off-station.”

As for the revenue, 51 percent will funnel into a capital asset fund managed by an advisory team for projects like sidewalks, bike lanes, parking structures, and public art with the oversight of the Transportation Department. An example of such work is currently underway on West 25th Street, where the West Campus PTMD is funding a $2,461,148 sidewalk widening project beginning this June.

Al-hajeri and his team hope to bring a final proposal to the Urban Transportation Commission sometime next month, followed by City Council this spring – something to hold on to for those of us circling the block in the meantime.

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