Parking is always a controversial issue in St. Paul and a good way to get people riled up. I live in an area with permit parking. That means we have to have a permit on any vehicle that we want to park on the street. We have guest permits for visitors. If we have a plumber or electrician stop by we either need to provide off-street parking or give them a guest permit.
Permits are &15.00 a year and they get renewed every August. The city of St. Paul website has information on how to get permits and maps of the permit area. The city likes to move pages around so instead of a broken link I am going to suggest using Google and the search string: “St. Paul Permit Parking”.
I have never had anyone say no to buying a house because of permit parking but it is something that home buyers should at least be aware of before they sign. Permit parking areas tend to be near Universities, hospitals, and areas where there are a lot of businesses.
We would not be able to park in front of our house or even on our block if not for permit parking. The system also makes it hard for a business that got some variances and is located on what used to be a city block that was all residential. In general, businesses don’t like permit parking or parking meters.
The streets where there is permit parking changes over time and is expanding. People just don’t want to pay for parking and will park in residential areas and walk.
The rules in the permit areas are not all the same either. In some areas, there is 24 hour a day permit parking and in other areas, it is just during business hours. There are signs on every block.
The important thing for home buyers to understand is that you may need a permit to park in front of your house but getting a permit does not guarantee a parking space.
