KC reverses course, drops some surge ‘event’ parking costs. Is your neighborhood affected?
After a controversial trial period, the city will be eliminating surge parking prices in some areas including the River Market, according to city officials.
The Kansas City council approved the new parking program earlier this summer, allowing public pay-to-park spaces downtown and in the Crossroads and River Market to run for up to $40 during special events. Under the new program, event pricing varied by location and time of day, according to Kansas CIty municipal codes.
The surge pricing affected drivers even if they were not attending the events associated with the higher fees.
But after pushback from some business owners and residents, the surge pricing program will be phased out in the River Market by the end of the week. The changes, according to Kansas City press secretary Sherae Honeycutt, are a result of the city listening to the feedback of residents.
The base rates for street parking have still been raised in the Crossroads, River Market and Power & Light Districts, Honeycutt said, and other options are still being considered.
“The team is exploring additional metered areas in business districts in the greater downtown area where parking remains a challenge,” Honeycutt wrote in a statement to The Star on Monday.
Officials hope the new base pricing, which has the strongest impact on full-day parking, will encourage more turnover of vehicles that opt for street parking over garage parking.
“Cars parked on the street in front of businesses for hours or even days at a time limit the ability for customers to get close to businesses,” Honeycutt said.
Surge parking for events was first proposed on a city level during a Transportation, Infrastructure and Operations meeting in late June. The measure passed by a vote of 12-0 at a June 27 meeting of the city council, with no discussion and without a vote from councilmember Andrea Bough.
After the vote, city officials declined to answer The Star’s questions about how the public would be educated about the change. When in effect, surge pricing was reflected on virtual or in-person parking meters, but signage was limited.
The impending change in the River Market was made after conversations with business owners and residents of the lively shopping district, Honeycutt said. When the event pricing was implemented, Arthur Leduc, owner of KC Taco Company at 528 Walnut Street, circulated a petition calling for its removal.
Leduc felt that revenue and foot traffic at his business and across the River Market area was declining as residents tried to avoid being caught in an event parking spot, he told The Star Monday.
Conversations with city manager Brian Platt made Leduc “cautiously optimistic” for a return to more modest street parking rates, he said.
“These constant feedback and conversations with stakeholders help us continue to make everything we do just a little bit better every day,” Platt said Monday.
The city is also working on an employee discount program for workers to park in River Market garages at a reduced rate, opening up more street parking for visitors, Honeycutt said.
The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton contributed reporting.
This story was originally published September 30, 2024 at 9:28 PM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the city council vote totals, which should be 12-0, with one member absent, and did not correctly specify the city’s stated goal of raising base prices for street parking was to ensure more parking turnover.
