Mayoral Musings: Commuter Parking Solutions

Mayor Garry Herbert•

As our community continues to change and develop, we are faced with addressing new issues related to density of population in the borough. It is wonderful that so many people want to live in Lansdale and spend their time here. However, with a large population of commuters using the train to get to Philadelphia, we are inevitably forced to discuss parking management around the train station.

At the Lansdale Borough Public Safety Meeting on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m., we will begin to discuss how to help manage this challenge going forward.

Frankly, Lansdale was always going to have to face this issue at some point. Additionally, we will need to deal with it in a comprehensive way because the concern is not derived from any single individual project in the borough. Rather, with three rail stops in our community, we have more streets affected by commuter parking than the average suburban borough on the rail system. It is a natural problem to develop. When commuters are given the option to park for free or pay, many will choose to walk a little further and park for free. Due to this reality, many of the boroughs and townships around us have instituted permit-only parking around their commuter rails in order to encourage the use of SEPTA parking lots and to allow residents more elbow room to park. The idea is simple, park in the SEPTA lot or pay a ticket when you get back.

Certainly, permit parking is not the only solution to the problem of commuter traffic taking up on-street parking; and all options should be considered at the public safety meeting in February. One of the concerns with permit parking is what I am calling “street creep.” Commuters who are committed to not paying for parking can just park outside the permit area, resulting in challenges for other residents on those streets. If we were to go down this road, we must understand the right distance where walking becomes not worth the cost to be in the SEPTA lot. Additionally, if we were to implement permit parking, it should be free to residents in order to ensure we are not adding an unnecessary fee just for living close to the train station.

For reference, the most affected areas currently include (see map below):

This is an issue we need to address comprehensively in our community, because it is affecting all of Lansdale and not just an isolated area. While we might start the discussion with the areas listed above, we will certainly need to expand our view as the conversation develops. I am hopeful that we will have an engaging and thoughtful discussion in public safety on this topic and maybe find a lasting solution to the challenge.

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