ST. CHARLES COUNTY — The days of congested streets around the St. Charles County Convention Center could soon be over — or at least that is the hope of residents like Raymond Schulte.
Schulte came to the St. Charles County Council meeting Monday to watch as officials unanimously voted to begin a residential parking permit program for his neighborhood, which has been plagued in recent years with traffic jams and blocked driveways as gatherings at the nearby convention center continues to draw larger and larger crowds.
He thinks his neighbors will appreciate the permit program once it is implemented.
“Once they get the permits and once they get the signs up, I think people are really going to like it,” Schulte said.
The convention center, located along Interstate 70, is a sprawling complex of meeting rooms, ballrooms, conference rooms and a 35,000-square-foot exhibit hall. The facility hosts industry conferences, boat and hot tub shows, talent shows and the Missouri Numismatic Society’s annual coin show, among other events.
At some of the largest events, attendees have filled the on-site parking lot and have parked in the nearby residential neighborhood.
That has led to “hazardous traffic conditions” and worries that the clogged streets do not provide “sufficient access for service vehicles, such as trash collection, utilities, the U.S. Postal Service” and emergency vehicles, according to the draft proposal written by County Council members Patti York, R-St. Charles, and Mike Elam, R-Dardenne Prairie.
Under the new rules approved Monday and expected to be enacted by St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann in the coming days, residents living in the area between South Drive and Beverly Drive and Christine Drive will be required to display parking permits on their vehicles.
Signs will also be posted on the impacted streets to remind convention-goers to not park there, officials said Monday.
Any vehicle without a valid permit may be ticketed by the St. Charles County Police Department or be towed.
The permit-only parking rules will be enforced year-round from 8 a.m. on Fridays to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
Residents will soon receive instructions in the mail on how to claim their four free parking passes, officials said on Friday.
Residents can also request up to two additional parking permits — $10 each — through the county police department if they have “valid supporting reasons” and “show good cause.”
County officials said Monday the extra tickets are largely intended for individuals planning a special event, such as a birthday party or family gatherings.
Elam praised the permit program on Monday, saying it’s “a nice compromise.”
“Hopefully, we can get the city of St. Charles to actually build a parking garage,” Elam said. “That would be ideal.”
St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer previously told the Post-Dispatch that the city and county leaders are “in discussions” about building a parking garage at the convention center. He said construction on the parking garage could begin as soon as next year.
City officials are also meeting with hotel developers who have expressed interest in adding a second hotel at the convention center property. The hotel would be required to have adequate parking for its guests, he said earlier this year.
York, the other council member who sponsored the permit program ordinance, said she hopes to make the rollout of the program as “easy as possible” for the residents.
“It will be a change, and I am sure there will be some difficulties with it,” York said. “We can always make changes or do something different, but this is at least a starting point.”
This is not the first time that officials have attempted to resolve the parking issues in and around the convention center.
Initially, the county installed parking restrictions, but the signs had minimal effect and annoyed neighborhood residents.
Meanwhile, Borgmeyer said the city distributed flyers to warn convention-goers to not park in the neighborhood and to promote alternative parking sites, such as the Family Arena, that offer shuttle service for attendees. It didn’t work, he said.
And the county announced in June that it would increase police patrols in the area during large conventions and gatherings.
Those patrols have resulted in roughly a dozen parking tickets being issued and a couple of cars being towed, said St. Charles County Police Department spokesperson Cpl. Barry Bayles.
“We are just trying to keep people accountable,” he said.
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Ethan Colbert | Post-Dispatch
St. Charles County reporter
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