The Issue Is Parking In Downtown

A public engagement was held by the City of San Marcos Tuesday evening to discuss changes in downtown San Marcos.

Representatives from the City’s consultant, Kimley-Horn and Associates, presented ideas on how to improve parking in the downtown area.

“You can regulate parking,” Ken Burns, project manager, said, “Add time restrictions for parking, offer protection for residential parking, introduce paid parking, manage transportation demand or add new parking. Some of these options you’ve already implemented, but we need to remain aware of  ‘unintended consequences.'”

Providing the city with multiple options for parking was important, said Burns.

As San Marcos has grown, parking in the downtown area has grown difficult to find. Over 50 percent of voters in the session’s poll said it was most difficult to find parking in the middle of the day.

“Parking is a limited resource that needs to be managed,” Burns said.

Assistant Project Manager, Vanessa Solesbee, compiled examples of parking solutions utilized by other towns and opened discussions on parking studies, which could help with the decision.

Currently, San Marcos has 622 spaces in street parking and 24 off-street lots and garages for visitors. But the parking doesn’t accommodate residential parking. The city says that the greatest demand for parking comes from the university and town square.

In open discussion, voters complained about S. LBJ Drive’s back-in parking; locals are concerned how the revenue from parking citations is spent. Parking tickets bring in $125,000 annually.

Kimley-Horn and the City will prepare a draft of  recommendations before the plan goes to city council in the coming months.