Parks Proposing Charging For Parking in Busy Areas

Lake Park. Photo by Dave Reid.

Milwaukee County Parks is revisiting the idea of charging parking fees, but only in a small number of parks and with an eye toward the future of the system.

The department last considered requiring parking fees at a few high-traffic parks a decade ago. The impetus then was Milwaukee County’s fiscal state. The county’s funding gaps were widening and it needed new revenue to avoid cutting budgets for departments like Parks. Then-County Executive Chris Abele included a parking fee plan in his proposed 2018 budget, but he dropped it after facing criticism that parking fees would limit access to public parks.

The fiscal conditions underlying the idea to begin charging for premium parking spots in a handful of parks have not materially changed. Milwaukee County policymakers will need to close a $50.9 million budget gap in 2027, according to projections from the Office of the Comptroller and the county’s parks face a deferred maintenance backlog of more than $500 million. But the reasoning, and the long-term vision behind the policy, have.

Like every other county department in 2027, Parks will need to cut spending to balance its budget. Without a new source of revenue, the department anticipates cutting approximately $887,000 in spending next year. Right now, those cuts would translate to a $450,000 cut to aquatics, closing two additional pools, 15 splash pads and wading pools, and reducing hours at others; a $50,000 cut to traffic safety project spending; and a $300,000, across-the-board cut to general park operations.

The parking fee plan would be a pilot program, testing out fees in a few areas with heavy vehicle traffic, to raise revenue and also advance long-term goals for transportation infrastructure and land use.

“We do need to fill that budget hole and not make those trade-offs,” Jim Tarantino, Parks deputy director, told Urban Milwaukee. “But it’s also good policy.”

Since 2018, Parks has spent approximately $23 million rebuilding and fixing parking lots across the parks system. The funding has come from the county property tax levy. But 40% of residents in the city of Milwaukee don’t drive and 16% don’t own a car, according to U.S. Census data.

Parking fees in select areas with high traffic volumes would generate a new stream of revenue to help pay for the parking infrastructure that already exists, as well as funding for alternative transportation options, like multi-use trails or even a shuttle service along the lakefront, Tarantino said.

As a matter of policy, Parks has tried in recent years to reduce the amount of paved surfaces in the parks system wherever possible. It has begun converting duplicative roadways into bicycle and pedestrian paths, increasing the amount of parkland dedicated to recreation, and providing more infrastructure for other forms of transportation.

“We know that we’re not going to change people’s transportation behaviors overnight. It’s taken us decades to become as car dependent as we are, and it’s going to take us decades to change anything,” Tarantino said. “We have to take a global view of these transportation issues. Everything’s related. “And if we are going after every fare on transit… and we’re really doubling down on those efforts. Why are we also allowing completely free access for drivers in other parts of the of the county?”

The lakefront — Bradford Beach, McKinley Marina and Veterans Park — experiences high vehicle traffic volumes, particularly in the summer. It’s the primary focus of the parking fee pilot program. Along with generating revenue, Parks thinks fees would actually improve access, not limit it.

“What we have right now is basically unregulated car access to the lakefront,” Tarantino said. “People really can just park all day; show up early, especially on a busy summer day, and just occupy that spot. And what that does is it prevents turnover. It limits access for other people to come to those sites.”

Motorists are frequently driving laps around the area looking for parking, which worsens creates congestion and local emissions. Parks has also had trouble with parking lot parties and street takeovers in parking lots and on Lincoln Memorial Drive, Tarantino said.

Separate from the county, the City of Milwaukee has an extensive parking operation for city streets and lots. It has experimented with demand-based pricing in certain areas and is currently extending hours Downtown to increase availability and revenue.

The pilot proposal

In September, Parks will formally present its proposal to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. The department plans to include the program in its 2027 proposed budget to offset cuts.

The plan is to develop a parking fee collection program in the first year. The department is looking at QR code technology to create a scan-and-pay system similar to one recently implemented at the Milwaukee County Zoo. There will not be parking meters lining Lincoln Memorial Drive, Tarantino said, adding, “The technology has evolved dramatically in the last 10 years.”

The plan, right now, is to focus paid parking on approximately 1,100 lakefront parking spots and 115 parking spots along two parkways near American Family Field: N. Story Parkway and Mitchell Boulevard Parkway.

The department has not settled on a fee structure nor the hours paid parking would be required yet. But it is developing estimates based on a $2 fee for lakefront spots and $4 for spots along the parkways around the ballpark. It estimates these fees would generate $671,344 in net income in 2027.

Parks already collects parking revenue in these areas through vehicle citations, Tarantino said. Park rangers ticket vehicles left in parking lots late after the park has closed.

If the program moves forward, Parks would work with supervisors and residents to begin identifying potential park improvements that could be made with some of the parking revenue. Revenue could be used to improve or expand the local trail network. Another concept is a lakefront shuttle, ferrying visitors up and down Lincoln Memorial Drive where there currently is no bus service, Tarantino said. The shuttle would reduce vehicle dependency and parking space demand.

Local Supervisors Willing to Explore the Proposal

Supervisors Sky Capriolo and Sheldon Wasserman represent the areas that would be the focus of the pilot program. Both told Urban Milwaukee they are neither for nor against the proposal.

Aware of the department’s need for revenue, both supervisors said they are interested in exploring the proposal and hearing from constituents.

“My first reaction was, residents are not going to like this,” Capriolo told Urban Milwaukee, after hearing about the proposal from Parks. “My immediate second reaction was, I know we need to come up with new ways to bring in revenue.”

Capriolo appreciates that Parks is looking for new ways to raise revenue. After years of budget cuts, the department has had to find ways to generate more than 50% of its annual operating budget through business services, fees and rentals. The supervisor also said it makes sense to have motorists who use the amenity contribute more to maintaining the infrastructure than the average taxpayer.

However, under the current proposal, which has not been finalized, there could be problems in the Story Hill neighborhood. Residents living on Story Parkway have struggled with heavy vehicle traffic during Milwaukee Brewers games in the past. In recent years, parking along the parkway has been prohibited during game days. If paid parking is instituted, the game day traffic would return to the neighborhood, Capriolo said.

“There are already huge concerns over traffic in that neighborhood during Brewers games, so with anything that is implemented, I think we really need to consider as much community input as we can,” Capriolo said. “I’m hoping that in the end we will find a great compromise that brings in revenue and helps with traffic control, pedestrian safety and those concerns in Story Hill in the long run.”

Capriolo said she has already talked to some Story Hill residents about the idea, and found some residents didn’t like the idea and others weren’t against it.

Sup. Sheldon Wasserman, chair of the Committee on Parks and Recreation, is similarly open to exploring the policy, but is declining to support or oppose the idea for now. He noted that constituents were adamantly opposed to paid parking on the lakefront in the past. Both Wasserman and Capriolo are also interested in considering other areas for paid parking in the system.

“I’m sympathetic to the goals and needs of the parks department,” Wasserman said. “The devil is in the details with this.”