City Council Meeting Date: September 8, 2026
To: Mayor and Members of Council
City Administrator
From: David Bennett, Public Works Director/City Engineer
Jeff Schroepfer, Police Chief
Scott Wapota, Community Development Director
Title
Discuss summary of input received related to St. Olaf Neighborhood Parking and short-term implementation strategies.
Body
Action Requested:
The City Council discusses summary of input received related to St. Olaf Neighborhood Parking and short-term implementation strategies.
Summary Report:
Over the past few years residents adjacent to St. Olaf College have experienced a significant increase in students parking and storing their vehicles in adjacent neighborhoods. Two factors driving this change are the construction of new student housing and the college moving from a need-based to a first-come-first-served permitting system. In a previous attempt to address the issue, St. Olaf constructed an additional 119 parking spaces, a number that exceeded the waitlist for permits at the time. The waitlist quickly rebounded after the expanded permits were issued.
Resident concerns include having limited space to park adjacent to their home for themselves or visitors, limited space for trash collection resulting in missed pickups, vehicles partially blocking driveways, and unsightly views of parked cars. Of particular concern are the number of student vehicles that appear to be parked/stored on city streets for extended periods of time.
To better understand what the neighborhood was experiencing along with sharing some possible strategies for solutions, staff canvased the neighborhood to received input the last week of July and held a neighborhood meeting at St. Olaf with representatives from St. Olaf in attendance so they could also hear from the neighborhood.
The canvassing area focus was Manitou St. west to Campus (170 Properties). The City also noticed 268 properties for the neighborhood meeting (map is attached).
1. Residential Parking Permit Program - Limiting on-street parking to residents and their guests during designated times. Generally supported but presents costly enforcement and management considerations.
2. Odd/Even Parking - Requiring vehicles to park on the odd-numbered side of the street on odd calendar days and the even-numbered side on even calendar days, with vehicles moved accordingly. Likely a more cost-effective solution but generally opposed.
3. Expanded Campus Parking Management - Working with St. Olaf College to review student parking permits, parking assignments, and campus parking availability. Generally supported but requires additional action by St. Olaf College i.e. limited opportunity for City Action
4. No Change - Maintain the current parking regulations if residents believe the existing system is working adequately. Support/opposition evenly divided.
5. Other Solutions - Residents were asked to provide any other suggested solutions during canvasing and the public meeting.
a. Apply same rules to St. Olaf Students, similar to what Carleton does with parking management.
b. Modify parking rules on Lincoln St.
c. Modify parking on west of Lincon St. on First St. and Second St. Cul-de-Sac to open up for student parking
d. More enforcement of existing rules.
e. Lower prices for student parking passes at St. Olaf
f. Staff will discuss more, residents cite the winter parking ban as an effective tool in limiting on-street parking by students.
St. Olaf will have staff representatives at the meeting to share what they are proposing to implement as a first phase to help mitigate some of the neighborhood parking concerns. These are listed below:
Parking Lot Designation Changes for Fall 2026
Students
• Temporary permits will now be located in Lot C (next to Melby)
o We will offer 24 hours for $15 and 7 days for $40
o Payments will no longer be through PubSafe, but through the QR code signs.
• Overnight Parking
o General Student permit holders will be allowed to park in Off-Campus living permit spots (Lot B-Rand and Lot H-FB Field area) from 6:00 pm - 6:00 am daily. This is a pilot program and can be removed due to poor compliance if deemed necessary. No exceptions for parking extensions will be made for ANY reason outside of extreme medical circumstances.
• Other Designation changes
o Lot B (Rand) - row-specific assignments changing - watch the signage
§ Far west row will be Blue spots
§ 10 spots for campus vans in the far east row
§ Remainder of the lot will be for Fae/Staff/Commuter - Mix, first-come, first serve
§ Fac/Staff Commuter will be all-permit parking 6am-6pm.
Faculty/Staff
• Removing eight commuter spots from Lot H (FB field area) to match demand, adding eight faculty/staff spots
Actions that have been completed
Completed:
• Lincoln and Skog Parking lots - 119 spots added
• Campus vans (Ole Go) allow for easier access to city
• Metro Express - subsidized by over 50% to support students to get to Urban areas
Phase 1 for Fall 2026 (already implemented):
• Updated language on parking website to mirror language of Carleton College
o Everyone who buys a permit has a spot, expectation is you park on campus, etc.
• Commuter Parking will now be available to all permit types from 6pm-6am
o 48 spots in B lot are now available for student parking during those times
o 9 spots in H lot are now available for student parking during those times
• Take away: we have made it clear to students buying permits that the expectation is they park on our campus and not in the surrounding neighborhoods. We have made over 50 parking spots available on campus in prime central locations in the evening hours. (The evening hours were what was identified by the city as the most problematic time for parking.)
City Plans & Policies Relevance:
NA
Alternative Options:
Staff will share short-term implementation strategies.
Financial Impacts:
NA
Tentative Timelines:
Short-term strategies could be implemented in September.