Last week in the Public Safety Committee meeting, Chief Trail of the Lansdale Police Department and I continued our discussion with council about the ongoing need to establish permit parking around the train station to encourage commuters to use the SEPTA garage rather than using on-street parking.
Back in February, it was left simply as an idea that needed to be discussed more internally before action was taken. After further review and continued discussions with SEPTA, it is my hope that by September, Lansdale will expand permit parking around Lansdale Station and the Madison Street project.
As local reporting has indicated, SEPTA has made it clear to the chief that their intent is to charge $2 per day for commuter parking in their garage beginning in the late summer/early fall timeframe. Our contacts at SEPTA have told us that other municipalities have experienced increased pressure for on-street parking when this has occurred, due to commuters not wanting to pay to park. I don’t blame them, free is always nice. However, additional parking challenges are not something we need or want in our community.
In order to better protect parking for residents on the street in the area of the train station (a proposed list of streets is still being finalized), it is recommended that we establish a permit program that allows only non-commercial, private passenger vehicles to park in the area. I have made the recommendation to the police chief and to council that permits should be free of charge to any resident living in that area, and that they can receive a permit for each qualified vehicle. “Qualified” meaning the vehicle is properly registered, has valid insurance, and is owned by someone who can prove they live in the permit parking area. You will notice that there is not a limit by household because we are not dictating the number of vehicles someone ought to have. Only that they need to take the time to get their vehicles permitted to park in that area.
Additionally, the borough is not looking to make money on the expansion of the permit parking program. As noted above, permits will be free to residents to ensure everyone can apply. The expansion of this program is not to punish commuters; we appreciate you spending your time and money in our community. However, Lansdale, like many other communities on the Doylestown line, needs to ensure residents have easy access to their homes during high traffic times. This has been a needed change in Lansdale for some time now, and bring us up to date with so many of our neighboring communities.
My hope is that Lansdale can find a parking equilibrium after this is instituted. The intent is not to expand this program to the whole borough, and to keep it, ideally, in a tight geographical area. However, this will require some testing and learning over the next year. The first attempt is rarely the final answer to the problem, and as this program is implemented, we will work diligently to see that it is effective.
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert.)
See also:
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Mayoral Musings: A Sign Of Change
