Permit-parking restrictions won’t change in St. Anthony Park or Como
St. Paul’s residential parking-permit system, the results of the St. Paul Public Works Department’s review are in: Parking restrictions in St. Anthony Park and Como Park will not change. What will change, however, is the city will begin using stickers for permit holders rather than placards.
The city of St. Paul launched the study in summer 2016 with the goal of standardizing time restrictions for simplicity and consistency, according to parking engineer Elizabeth Stiffler. But that’s not what happened.
“There wasn’t enough consensus on what to standardize time to and also residents felt [the] city was overreaching in changing time restrictions that were working fine,” Stiffler said. Surveys were mailed to all permit-parking users and a survey was posted online at Open St. Paul.
Area 2, the permit-parking area in St. Anthony Park north of Como Avenue, will continue with a combination of time restrictions. Some streets restrict parking for those without permits to one or two hours, while other streets restrict parking all day. Area 29 in Como Park, which is affected by its proximity to the state fairgrounds and Como Regional Park, has a mix of parking restrictions. Some streets ban parking from May 1 to Sept. 30 during daytime hours, some restrict parking throughout the 12 days of the State Fair, and no parking is allowed on several blocks along Midway Parkway.
The change from placards to stickers will take effect this summer in Area 2 when residents begin renewing their permits. Permit holders will be able to buy up to three stickers per address and up to two placards for visitors. The stickers will be tied to a specific license plate number. The visitor placards will display the homeowner’s address. Prices will remain at $15 per sticker or placard. One-use visitor hangtags will still be available for $1 apiece.
Area 29 permit holders renewed their permits this spring, so the change to stickers will not go into effect there until 2019.
