Proposed Buffalo Street Parking Fees Raise Concerns

BUFFALO, NY — A proposal has been submitted to the Buffalo Common Council that would not only increase the rates at parking meters and pay stations in the city of Buffalo, but also extend the hours during which you have to feed them.

Opponents of the plan say it came out of nowhere.

“I’m very frustrated with this proposal,” Delaware District Councilmember Joel P. Feroleto said of the measure introduced by Fillmore District Councilmember Mitch Nowakowski.

According to Feroleto, the rate for on-street parking would increase gradually, up to a maximum of eight hours, and the longer you stay, the more you pay.

“So instead of $1 an hour, it would be $2 an hour for the first two hours until the last two hours, when it would go to $5 an hour,” he said.

Additionally, not only would the hours subject to fees be extended from the current 5 p.m. limit to 10 p.m., but parking users would also be required to pay on Saturdays, a day when on-street parking is currently free.

However, Feroleto is particularly concerned about an additional measure that would expand the affected “parking district” (which currently encompasses downtown) to include the Elmwood and Hertel Avenue business districts, both within his municipal district.

“I think this proposal for Hertel and Elmwood is absurd,” Feroleto said.

“It’s a very bad idea,” said Thomas Eoannou, an attorney and owner of the North Park Theatre on Hertel.

Charging for parking after 5 p.m. and on Saturdays, when most people go to the movies and therefore have to park for several hours, would be disastrous for the North Park Theatre, Eoannou said.

“You’re doubling the price of a ticket,” he said. “People aren’t going to go to North Park, they’re going to the mall where parking is free.”

He also worries about the merchants he rents space to in his 15 other Hertel Avenue properties, who are small business owners facing skyrocketing labor costs, taxes, insurance and other expenses … and who he says can’t afford to lose customers.

“These outrageous proposals to increase parking spaces would spell the end for these small businesses. They simply cannot afford it,” he said.

“I don’t think it makes sense,” said Nick Kotrides, owner of Cluck Cluck Moo Moo, which has restaurants on Elmwood and Hertel.

“Are we just trying to create more empty stores?” he asked. “We’re competing with a lot of other commercial districts … in Williamsville, you can be on Main Street and not have to pay the meter. If we don’t have people coming into town using our street parking, we might as well close our doors.”

Additionally, Kotrides is concerned that if fees are charged for overnight parking, it will force patrons of Hertel Avenue bars to look for parking on side residential streets and inconvenience property owners.

“The people who live in this neighborhood support us and we have to support them as well,” he said.

“Our city should be helping them attract people to their businesses, not forcing them to go somewhere else,” Eoannou said. “And that’s the only thing it’s going to do.”

“I don’t see any positive aspect to this or how it could benefit the residents of Buffalo and the small businesses in Hertel and Elmwood,” Feroleto said.

2 On Your Side reached out to Councilman Nowakowski, who is submitting the legislation. However, an aide told us he was reserving comment until the measure comes before the council’s finance committee next Tuesday. He also said the measure is subject to the request of the Brown administration, whose parking commissioner, Ray Wagner, did not return a phone message we left seeking comment.