TheBurg News - Greater Harrisburg's Community Magazine
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/548742
08.15 | The Burg | 17 O n the matter of parking, the administration of Mayor Eric Papenfuse has found itself between a rock and a hard place. e city's agreement was negotiated and signed under his predecessor, Linda ompson, under terms dictated by the state's bailout plan. Nonetheless, as the new face of city government, Papenfuse has had to take responsibility for its terms—both by fighting for its benefits and by mitigating its consequences. In December, he announced a partnership with a mobile app that would allow motorists to earn coupons and parking validations by saying it could "change the narrative" on parking. In March, he bargained for four free hours of parking on Saturdays and reduced happy hour rates by pledging a quarter-million dollars in tourism money to cover any lost revenue. At the same time, he is loath to see the parking system lose a dime, for a simple reason: the city needs the revenue. On July 1, the state coordinator of Harrisburg's recovery, Fred Reddig, filed a status report with the court overseeing the bailout plan. Among other updates, the report noted that the city was getting far less money from the parking system than expected. By the end of May, the payments to the city were around $650,000 short of what had been budgeted. Revenues were "way, way, way off," as Papenfuse put it. Yet Reddig's report seemed mostly to blame the city, noting that City Council had delayed passing an ordinance required to enforce tickets. e city "has a lot to say about how well the parking operations perform, and thus how much of the cash flow it realizes," the report said. It went on to address "some land owners" who "will attempt to offer parking to the public" in the downtown zone. "It is incumbent that the City act to shut these operations down as soon as practicable in order to maximize revenue." How does PennDOT's lease with Transitpark square with this objective? "One of the long-term threats is the growth of the parking enterprise there," Papenfuse told me recently. Directly across the street from Transitpark is the 10th Street lot, a part of the city-owned system. "I think they've talked about how, if I recall Fred's words, the city has a role in ensuring compliance with the system and the long- term viability of the system," he said. "And one has to ask whether or not that PennDOT lease is really in the long-term best interest of the parking system." e state, he said, "could be working proactively with PennDOT to integrate into the existing system. I don't know why that's not happening." "Our intent was not to be in competition," PennDOT's Fauver told me. He described the investment in Transitpark in terms of a long-term commitment to increase train ridership and tourist travel to the area. e agency is currently completing a $40 million project to upgrade the tracks leading into Harrisburg. e project, along with another recent investment to remove track-level crossings on the rail line, is expected to shave 10 to 12 minutes off the journey between Harrisburg and Philadelphia. "ere's a lot of opportunity to market south-central Pennsylvania to the outside, to New York City," he said. "But we've got to be able to provide parking." He also spoke of long-term plans to improve the station itself, including new elevators from the concourse to the platforms. "We want the city of Harrisburg to have a good station," he said. e city is aware of these efforts and, perhaps because of this, has not courted controversy over the lease. Fauver "runs a thousand miles an hour," Martin, the city engineer, told me. "I don't think PennDOT intended to hurt the city. In the absence of a plan, they made decisions." Meinstein, for his part, told me his business had a "fantastic relationship" with Amtrak and PennDOT, and described the development of his property as a form of much- needed help for the station. "We don't think it's controversial," he said. "ere were some needs. We didn't seek this contract—it came to us." He pointed to the benefit the city already receives from his operation, in the form of a 20-percent tax on his parking revenues. Yet Transitpark also has real potential to undercut the city's parking system. Reddig, in an email to city officials, said the Transitpark lease was "entered into primarily to provide parking for those using the train," but the lot's own marketing tells a broader story. Last summer, the company promised "Harrisburg's Best Parking Rates" in advertisements in this magazine. e website currently advertises spaces for "businesses, busy travelers and city visitors." At the top of the page, in capital letters, is an announcement: "We're growing!" Papenfuse has said he would favor "redevelopment of the post office site into something else entirely that would benefit Mr. Meinstein, but wouldn't be parking." Meinstein, at least for now, doesn't seem so inclined. He told me he felt Transitpark helped solve a shortage of parking in the city, and that people were "coming into the city who wouldn't otherwise come because of the cost." He also emailed me an excerpt from the city's parking lease, outlining the "non-compete" area that encompassed the entire downtown. "Very few people are aware of this," he wrote. In a subsequent phone interview, he clarified. "ere shouldn't be any such thing as a parking monopoly in any city," he said. "It's not right."