MISSOULA — The Missoula Parking Commission (MPC) has regulated downtown parking with the same system for 50 years, and now, they’re looking to make some changes.
A new plan through the MPC outlines possible changes to parking in Missoula.
The commission will undergo further data analysis and public engagement before implementing any changes.
The Missoula Parking Commission Expansion and Optimization Implementation and Action Plan has been an ongoing investigation over the past year.
The plan was completed by a third-party consultant and is meant to analyze the changing needs for parking in Missoula.
The 89-page plan analyzed available parking areas and the usage of those areas, all while using feedback from community members, city leaders and business owners.
Parking services director for the City of Missoula, Jodi Pilgrim, says while the commission will vote on whether to approve the plan on April 9, 2024, none of the changes are confirmed until further analysis and public engagement.
“It's really just, it's a guiding document for the future of the parking commission,” she says. “This plan was designed to help us have metrics and to collect data to determine how we can change with the changing town. It will require further community outreach to determine the appropriate course of action and how to use the plan as a guiding document.”
Pilgrim says the plan will be useful for any future issues with downtown parking.
The vision statement for the plan is: “Enact a proactive, flexible parking management program that responds to our growing and evolving community, advances our most important policy goals, remains financially sustainable, and respects Missoula’s unique and varied sense of place.”
There are five sections in the document, each with its own proposed solutions or changes.
System Expansion
The MPC is looking to expand its area of jurisdiction and regulation. This expansion would include much of the Hip Strip and the area near St. Patrick Hospital.
New regulations on the Hip Strip may include merely fines for unsafe parking violations, but placing meters along the street is also a possibility.
The goal in expanding to the Hip Strip is to bring in extra revenue for parking technology and transportation services while creating a better solution for neighborhood parking overflow.
The MPC is an enterprise fund, meaning they don’t receive general tax dollars from the city. The parking fees in new areas would bring in more money for MPC operations.
Expanding its jurisdiction will require city council approval to change certain ordinances.
Due to city government involvement, this will likely be the first step after the plan is adopted, according to Pilgrim.
Another aspect of the system expansion is requesting the Missoula City Council’s permission to collect further data on parking areas.
The analysis would look deeper into how or if each proposed area will be regulated.
The commission will focus on parking inventory — the number of spaces in a single area; parking occupancy — the number of cars in that area; and the length of stay for most cars.
The further data collection will either be conducted by a third-party consultant again — costing MPC an annual $55,000 to $75,000 — or be conducted in-house as a less expensive option, which would cost the MPC between $25,000 and $30,000.
Neighborhood Parking Management
The second section in the document addresses neighborhood parking, particularly permit parking for residents.
Currently, the University Area asks residents to pay $25 annually for a street parking permit.
However, there is often spillover from students and other people visiting the University of Montana, meaning space for many permit-paying residents is limited.
The city is looking to change city ordinances in order to streamline the permit process, as well as expand the number of people who can obtain a permit.
New permit types could include a commuter permit, which would assist employees who work at one location downtown.
A mobile vendor permit would service employees with multiple work locations.
A temporary contractor permit would allow workers with short-term jobs to park downtown for a period of 10 days.
MPC would also start increasing permit fees. According to the plan, only 50% of the permit program’s expenses are recovered through fines and permit costs.
Many of the proposed permit changes would not be completed until 2025.
Commercial/Employee Permits
Another section addressing the issues behind the city’s permit system looks specifically at who is using permits and how often.
The plan says that many who own permits for the 25 different on-street and off-street permit areas are encouraged to drive daily rather than look at other commuting options, such as biking or taking a bus.
There is also an issue with businesses purchasing permits in bulk for their employees, yet many of the permits go unused. This causes some permit areas to be underutilized despite long waitlists for permits.
MPC will look to alleviate these issues by creating a virtual permit management system as well as increasing the price of permits.
They would possibly look into tiered pricing– asking more money for high-demand permit areas– or offer subsidies for some groups.
Short-Term Paid Parking
Short-term fees for parking downtown are currently in place to encourage turnover for parking spaces.
The price for parking increases exponentially the longer a driver chooses to stay. The system, according to the plan, is fairly successful, but it needs to be modernized and expanded.
In areas of MPC jurisdiction, there is no difference in fees between busy streets and off-streets.
The commission will look to increase fees for parking in high-demand areas, such as Main Street while maintaining lower costs in low-demand areas.
This will also include a deeper look at the Hip Strip, as parking in the high-demand area is currently unregulated.
Another aspect of this section is extending paid hours in high-traffic areas to 8 p.m.
While this would result in higher revenue for MPC, Pilgrim says she has heard concern from downtown business owners.
“From the business owners, the biggest concern that I heard was about extending charging hours to 8 p.m. because that’s when people come downtown to eat, and the idea that they could have a place to park and not have to pay for it is of value to certain business owners,” she says. “That’s one of the reasons why I would like to be very clear that adopting this plan does not mean we just move forward with every single piece of the plan. It means that we take into account the existing climate and we make our decisions based on that.”
The further analysis and feedback portion of the plan would include conversations with downtown business owners and community members.
At this time, the plan did not recommend charging for parking on the weekends.
Violations and Fines
The last section of the plan highlights proposed issues with the city’s current fine system. Right now, most violations result in a $20 fine, unless the driver overstays or misses the payment.
There is currently no increase in fines for repeat offenders, which MPC says does not do enough to encourage people to follow parking rules.
Higher fines will “shift the enforcement focus to habitual violators and build a safer, friendlier environment for everyone,” according to MPC.
The commission wants to gradually increase the fine for each violation for repeat offenses.
For example, for a second-time unpaid parking violation, the fine will be $30 versus $5. The third violation will cost $45 as opposed to the current $10 fine. The cost will increase up to the fifth violation costing $160.
The city will continue to provide warnings for first-time offenders.
The plan will be discussed and likely voted on during the MPC April 9 meeting and the commission is asking for public comment on the plan ahead of the meeting.
While there will be continued public engagement as the process continues, Pilgrim hopes Missoulians will take the time to read through the plan prior to the meeting.
Pilgrim says the document is not a decisive plan of action and is subject to change with further analysis.
However, beginning the process of changing certain city ordinances will set up the MPC for success as Missoula grows.
“The growth that we have seen in the population– we have about a 1% annual growth rate year after year– brings a lot of different needs into the community, a lot of different transportation needs, and being able to react to those, having a guiding document that helps us to react to that change, would be really beneficial,” Pilgrim says.
If the plan is adopted, presenting many of the ordinance changes to City Council will likely be completed this summer.
Concrete changes, including extending charging hours, would take an additional 3-5 years according to Pilgrim.
If and when changes occur, MPC says they will maintain a grace period for Missoulians adjusting to the new rules.
“The parking commission tries really hard to be more educational than punitive,” Pilgrim says.
