Council looks at parking fee hike
Borough could set $1.25 per day price at Ninth Street, Pennbrook lots to match Lansdale train station
LANSDALE >> Lansdale officials are planning to hold a big-picture discussion about parking around town, and want to hear what the public has to say.
The next several weeks could bring talks on changing the prices at the lot near SEPTA’s Ninth Street and Pennbrook stations, once a free trial period in the borough’s new parking garage is over.
“We need to make a decision on setting the rates for those two lots. That falls under borough council,” said Councilman Jason Van Dame.
Last month SEPTA and borough officials formally opened a 680-space parking garage behind the Lansdale train station, on Main Street adjacent to Walnut Street. Parking within that garage is free for the first two months until June 18, after which SEPTA will begin charging $2 per day.
The question for borough council to consider is whether, around that same time, to change the prices for the Ninth Street and Pennbrook lots, Borough Manager Jake Ziegler told council’s administration and finance committee last Wednesday.
“Obviously, what SEPTA would like to do is see that the parking garage is utilized to the fullest extent possible, and also try to allow for people that find it more convenient or more desirable to park out at the Ninth Street lot, to also be able to do that,” Ziegler said.
“SEPTA is planning on adjusting their surface parking lots (around the garage) to $1.25 per day — at least, that’s the plan — and so the thought is to make an equivalent adjustment” at Ninth Street, he said.
Parking at the Ninth Street station has been free since the station opened in late 2015 due to construction of the garage, but should that price now change? That question, Ziegler told the committee, is one council will have to consider.
“The thought is to fix a rate for the Ninth Street lot, and in conversations with SEPTA, I think the $1.25 per day, matching SEPTA’s rates, would be appropriate,” he said.
“The other thing to take into consideration is that there is also a lot out at Pennbrook Station that is largely utilized by SEPTA commuters. That lot is currently at $1 per day, so we might want to take a look at that also,” said Ziegler.
Committee member Steve Malagari said while the lots at the Pennbrook
station that are closest to the SEPTA rail platform are both owned and collected by SEPTA, the lot across Church Road and behind the Station Square shopping center is the one the borough does control.
Before making changes to prices at Ninth Street, Malagari said, “we should really consider the ramifications or implications on the residents in that area, and how their streets might be filled with SEPTA commuters who refuse to pay an extra quarter or dollar.”
Resident Carol Zellers said she thought the price difference between the parking garage and the surface lots surrounding it sent a mixed message.
“They want to incentivize people to use the parking garage, but they’re charging them 60 percent more to use the garage than the surface lots,” Zellers said.
Van Dame said the higher price for parking inside the garage could be because it provides protection from weather, and he and Malagari said they thought the price was comparable to other stations on the same SEPTA line.
Council President Denton Burnell said that’s the conversation full council will need to have, and the upcoming end of the free parking period may be the catalyst.
“We are looking at planning a larger parking conversation. I think certainly, resident permit parking and commercial permit parking, and all those types of things, have to be on the
table, particularly with that garage,” Burnell said.
“We’ve been averse to that for a long time,” Malagari said.
“I think we need to rethink our position,” Burnell replied.
Ziegler said SEPTA has indicated that the garage will be open on nights and weekends for use by Lansdale residents and visitors, but has not said whether those periods would be free, and any decisions made on the pricing at Ninth Street could be revisited later, based on usage.
“We’ll have to monitor the situation as we move forward. If it becomes necessary to adjust the rate further, as we see how the lot is utilized, then we would take appropriate action to do that,” Ziegler said.
No formal action was taken during the council committee meetings on May 3, but Van Dame said he expects the conversation to continue during the full council meeting on May 17 and the next round of committees on June 7, before a possible action on June 21.
“We’ll talk more about this next month, for sure,” he said.
Lansdale Borough Council next meets at 7 p.m. on May 19, and the administration and finance committee next meets at 7 p.m. on June 7, both at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine St.