Parking Fees in Parks Has Support From Neighborhood Association

Doyne Park. Photo taken Aug. 21, 2022 by Dave Reid.

Milwaukee County Parks‘ proposal to charge for parking in a limited number of high-traffic areas is receiving tentative support from one neighborhood association that would be affected by the plan.

Based on feedback collected at public meetings and through social media, the Story Hill Neighborhood Association formally expressed support for the pilot program, provided it would not introduce paid parking along Story Parkway.

Story Hill is one of two areas where Parks is contemplating introducing paid parking. The department is also proposing parking fees for high-traffic parking spots along the lakefront around Bradford Beach, McKinley Marina and Veterans Park.

Paid parking would create a new revenue source for park improvements and maintaining existing parking infrastructure, which the department has spent $23 million maintaining since 2018, according to Parks. Shifting a greater share of the burden for maintaining this infrastructure and using revenue to improve other transportation options, such as nearby bicycle trails, would also advance the department’s long-term goals for land use and transportation infrastructure, Deputy Director James Tarantino previously told Urban Milwaukee. Revenue estimates suggest the program could generate $671,344 in net income in 2027.

The Story Hill Neighborhood Association expressed support for Parks implementing paid parking in the Doyne Park parking lot and along Mitchell Boulevard, but not along Story Parkway.

The parkway cuts between a residential neighborhood and American Family Field parking lots. Game-day traffic has been a nuisance for residents in the past. Recently, parking was banned along the parkway, and the paid parking plan would allow the traffic to return.

Neighborhood residents understand the parks need more funding and support the department’s efforts to generate more revenue, but were nearly unanimous in opposing paid parking along Story Parkway, according to a statement from the neighborhood association.

“Residents’ concerns focus on traffic and pedestrian safety, disruption to established game-day traffic management, enforcement challenges, and the overall suitability of a residential parkway for paid event parking,” Neighborhood Association President John Gleason said in an email to Urban Milwaukee. “Our position is not opposition to County revenue generation. We recognize the financial challenges facing Milwaukee County Parks and support efforts to generate revenue where it can be done responsibly. We simply believe Story Parkway is the wrong location for this proposal.”

Parks still needs approval from the Milwaukee County Board for the proposals and the exact details of the program are not yet set in stone. “We are open to finding the right balance as we set up the paid parking program so this is valuable feedback,” Tarantino said of the neighborhood association’s position.

Milwaukee County is projecting a $50.9 million budget gap in 2027, according to projections from the Office of the Comptroller. The parks system has an estimated $500 million backlog of infrastructure needs. Without a new source of revenue, in this case paid parking, the parks department anticipates cutting approximately $887,000 in 2027, leading to the closure of two additional pools, 15 splash pads and wading pools, a $50,000 cut to traffic safety spending and a $300,000 cut to the department’s general budget.

Previous parking fee proposals have been met with strong pushback from the public. In 2018, then county executive Chris Abele included a parking fee plan in his proposed budget. The plan was dropped after facing criticism that parking fees would limit access to public parks.