Visitors’ free parking at San Marcos City Park may come to an end this year.
On Tuesday, the San Marcos City Council greenlighted the Parks and Recreation Board’s request for approval to procure pay station equipment and proceed with paid parking implementation at City Park, 170 Charles Austin Drive.
The parks department has set aside $38,000 for the procurement of six pay stations, which are expected to cost between $6,000 and $8,000 each, according to Parks and Recreation Director Jamie Lee Case.Councilmember Jude Prather said he is “glad this is finally moving forward.”
“Communities pay for parking on water recreation areas,” Prather said. “It’s a very popular destination for people to come throughout Texas to visit our river and requires a significant amount of resources on public safety, and it has an environmental impact. It’s time that we start charging for paid parking.”
Recommendation Resolution 2022-01RR was passed by the board on Dec. 15 and proposes the installation of six automated, time-metered cashless pay stations in the City Park parking lot as part of a three-year pilot program, beginning May 1, 2023, until May 1, 2026.
Case told the council the pilot program may not roll out by summer because “this is going to be screaming fast.”
“Obviously, we want to make sure we’re doing our due diligence in acquiring the equipment, working with the Parking Advisory Board as the council wants, and also making sure we’re able to educate our residents as well,” she said.
According to the Recommendation Resolution, visitors will pay either a half-day rate of $10 or a full-day rate of $15 to park, while resident parking will remain free.
The program will be evaluated in December 2025 to determine whether paid parking will become permanent.
Case explained to the council on Tuesday that the vehicle registration process will be intuitive, and San Marcos residents can provide proof of address in one of four ways: With a valid driver’s license, a current San Marcos Utilities statement with photo ID, another current utility statement with photo ID, or a rental or housing contract with photo ID.
Case said the city will also place signs around the parking district explaining how residents can register their vehicles.
Several aspects of the proposal did not sit well with Councilmember Alyssa Garza, who asked whether the board would consider counting library cards as a valid ID, because it “gives folks another option if they can’t get their valid driver’s license.”
“The enhanced community library cards, given all the requirements that are taken to get them, in my opinion, would be a standalone bullet,” Garza said.
Garza also asserted her “fundamental, moral opinion against all cashless systems.”
“For me, there’s a larger conversation about equity, and looking at our demographics, folks tend to not have credit cards and debit cards, for a lot of reasons,” she said.
Councilmember Mark Gleason agreed with Garza’s sentiment and suggested having one cash machine “just as an option.”
Case said while she currently does not have the staff to collect cash from machines, conversations are “ongoing” with the Lion’s Club and parking station vendors to explore options for taking cash payments.
Case also said she would bring the council's other recommendations back to the Parking Advisory Board.
The implementation of paid parking in the City of San Marcos has been in the works for the last two years.
According to the City of San Marcos website, the Parks and Recreation Board and the Parking Advisory Board are working to implement two parking districts — a “Downtown Benefit District” and a “River Benefit District.”
Revenue generated within the Parking Benefit Districts would accrue to the Parking Management Fund, and 30% of net revenue (after expenses) would be allocated for expenditure within the Districts, which include sidewalk/walkability improvements, district beautification, and transportation or parking investments, the website states.
Visitor parking fees for San Marcos City Park would be used to support the ongoing operations of the Parks and Recreation Department.
“We’ve increased parkland, as council knows, and we really haven’t increased the park’s budget,” said Stephanie Reyes, Interim City Manager for the City of San Marcos. “This is an alternative revenue source without trying to tax our residents who already pay city taxes, but more of our visitors [on] what it takes to run the parks.”
