University Av. stores look ahead to LRT parking loss

If 85 percent of on-street parking along University Avenue in St. Paul disappears when the Central Corridor light-rail line arrives, how will customers get to the 2,500 businesses and properties along the street?

Project planners, who spent more than six months trying to figure that out, have compiled a lengthy page report that identifies problems and offers some solutions. The general theme: Do a better job managing what on-street parking remains and of improving off-street lots.

"We're focusing on practical steps we can take before construction starts," said Craig Blakely, a strategic planner for the city of St. Paul.

Many folks -- particularly business owners -- along University Avenue in St. Paul were surprised last year to learn that 975 of the 1,150 on-street parking spaces from the Minneapolis border near Hwy. 280 eastward to Rice Street will go away.

The loss comes from a mix of mandatory features and community requests. Two sets of tracks, two lanes of traffic, left-hand turn lanes, traffic lights, stations and sidewalks will take up plenty of room.

Many businesses rely on easy access to their front doors and some business owners have said they'll have to close after construction begins.

The report divides the potential solutions into two categories, the overall avenue and location-specific. Eleven areas along the avenue will lose most or all of their on-street parking.

Solutions for specific blocks include grouping garbage and recycling containers in one spot, closing some driveways and using cross-street parking and loading areas more efficiently. Cross streets within a block of University Avenue have 560 parking spots.

Businesses also could share their off-street lots with nearby businesses that don't have them. Planners have identified 25,000 off-street spaces along the avenue.

Will the solutions work?

The ideas look good on paper but won't translate well in the real world, said Jack McCann, chairman of the University Avenue Business Association. Not everyone is pleased with the report, released last month, but people appreciate getting the information, he said.

McCann owns Midtown Commons, just east of Hwy. 280 near Raymond and University, which has a parking lot. He said he has paid a lot of money in improvements -- and taxes -- to provide parking, and he's not so sure he wants to share.

"There are wonderful people doing the planning, but you can't solve these issues without funding," said business owner Jim Segal. His surplus store, Ax-Man, has been at the corner of Fry Street and University Avenue, 200 yards west of Snelling, for more than 40 years. He counts on having parking close to his building because he draws customers from all over. It's not going to do him much good if 20 parking spaces are available a mile away.

Side streets aren't immune

Nearby residents will feel the effects of reduced University Avenue parking as well, especially as people will want to park and ride, Stark said. Planners haven't been keen on the idea of a park-and-ride lot on University Avenue because of the land's high commercial value, he said.

After the Central Corridor line is built, there might be an opportunity to allow parking in the right-hand lanes of University Avenue during off-peak hours, Stark said. Currently, between 17,000 and 22,000 vehicles travel on the street every day.

People affected in the 11 critical areas will be invited to workshops between this month and July to find more customized solutions. Construction on the 11-mile line from downtown Minneapolis to downtown St. Paul is scheduled to begin next year, with completion in 2014. The price tag is $914 million.