Downtown board claims it wasn’t informed of proposed parking rate change in Columbia

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The City of Columbia has proposed an increase in parking meter rates downtown, marking an adjustment for the first time in 12 years.

Currently, downtown drivers pay 60 cents per hour. There is also a 55-cent transaction fee for those using a credit card. On the University of Missouri campus, the rate is $1 per hour with the same 55-cent transaction fee. Some city staff expressed concern that the added charge may be pushing more students to park downtown instead of on campus.

Under the proposal, downtown parking meters would be set at $1 per hour. The last time the city made a change to parking meter rates was in 2013, when rates were changed to 60 cents.

Columbia Assistant Public Works Director Lee White says the city determined the $0.40 increase after comparing Columbia's rate to other college towns. He said the University of Missouri's parking rate is $1.25 and the city felt a dollar increase would be an adequate rate adjustment.

The proposal, White says, would bring in more than $335,000 in revenue for the city.

"That goes to funding the parking utility. The parking utility is self-sustaining. So we're not trying to make money," White said. "We're trying to sustain all the needs that the parking utility has, which is as well as enforcement as well as upkeep to the facilities and the parking garages."

The projected revenue from the parking changes is already factored into the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026.

The City Council took up the proposal for a vote at Tuesday's council meeting, but Nickie Davis, executive director of The District Downtown, urged the council to postpone the decision. She said The District's board had not been informed of the proposal and wanted time to consult with other community leaders.

The council unanimously agreed to table the vote until its Monday, Sept. 15 meeting. If passed, City of Columbia Public Works spokesperson John Ogan said the rate change would take effect in January 2026.

Davis said she did not feel prepared for the change.

"We immediately asked for them to be pulled off the agenda, not because we're going to say we're for or against it, but we don't know anything about it," Davis said. "We are typically informed of those types of things ahead of time, so it was a bit of a surprised, but we have a good City Council that listens to us and their constituents. So we're glad that they removed it, at least for now,

"So, making sure that our board of directors knows what's going on and that we know what's going on so we can better talk to our stakeholders, our businesses down here."

However, White said the city did plan to speak with The District, but a meeting was canceled.

"We did want to discuss that with them. In August, we had a cancellation or unable to speak with them that day," White said. "The next day, we were going to speak to the PAC Parking Advisor Committee about that and so we wanted to do that all at once but we had an unfortunate, set of circumstances and unable to meet with them that day."

Davis said the next step will be to discuss the proposal at The District’s upcoming board meeting, scheduled for Tuesday. She said The District will be able to get a better understanding and decide if it's something they want to see move forward or not.

As far as the rate change, David says, parking has always been an issued in The District.

"It's definitely another something of a barrier for people that might want to come down here," Davis said. It is jumping about half of what it is already. So we understand that it hasn't been done in ten years, however we'd like to see some of the numbers and understand a little bit more of why they're implementing it."

Downtown Columbia parking garage rates will remain the same, according to Ogan.

The council has also discussed shifting away from traditional parking meters. Block-based kiosks are under consideration and would allow for cash payments, along with expanded reliance on the ParkMobile app, which requires less maintenance than individual meters.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, the city reported that traditional parking meters come with additional costs ranging from $60,000-100,000. These expenses include staff time for coin collection and delivery, maintenance, and other personnel responsibilities, with officials noting the current technology it is using is outdated.