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Town of St. Paul to develop downtown parking area

An area north of the Lions Park in downtown St. Paul will be developed into a designated parking area.
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An empty lot north of the Lions Park will become designated downtown parking in St. Paul.

ST. PAUL - The Town of St. Paul is moving ahead with designating a vacant lot just off main street as parking, in a bid to ease parking constraints that sometimes happen in the downtown core.

The area, located just north of the Lions Park along 49th Street, is already being used as parking when events take place at the nearby park, for example. But, an official designation has not been given to use the lot for the purpose yet, heard council.

The Town of St. Paul signed a lease agreement in 2020 with a landowner in relation to the lot in question. While conversations about parking in the area have been a topic in the past, there had not been a point where all parties were on the same page. 

“We have contacted the owner of the lot, and also the representative from Champions for Change," said CAO Steven Jeffery. He noted that no concerns have been raised regarding the town officially designating the area as parking. 

The lease agreement for the property expires in 2030. 

Jeffery requested council make a motion to allow administration to move forward with designating the lot as parking, which will involve basic improvements such as grading and hauling in gravel. Administration has no intention to pave the parking area.

The CAO noted that there will likely be some ongoing maintenance costs and there will be some work needed to coordinate the direction of parking, along with installation of some signs to designate the entrance and exit. 

A motion to allow administration to proceed with designating the lot for downtown parking was carried by council.

Coun. Ron Boisvert asked how many parking stalls would be created, to which Jeffery noted that there should be room for about 30 vehicles on the lot. He also noted that right now, only about 40 per cent of the lot has gravel, and the rest is overgrown with grass and weeds. Work to regrade the lot an d spray the weeds could begin this fall to make sure the area is smooth and accessible.

Further work would be done in the spring.

Mayor Maureen Miller spoke in favour of the designation of the lot, noting that the area has already been used for parking "non-officially" in the past. 

“I think it probably gets most used when there’s an event at the Lions Park," agreed Jeffery, who further noted that with some promotion, the area could significantly improve access to downtown parking.

Jeffery said work will also be done to ensure all parties involved are comfortable with the use.


Janice Huser

About the Author: Janice Huser

Janice Huser has been with the St. Paul Journal since 2006. She is a graduate of the SAIT print media journalism program, is originally from St. Paul and has a passion for photography.
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