We, the undersigned attorneys and other professionals who live, work, and conduct business in downtown Syracuse and the courthouse district, respectfully request that the City undertake a comprehensive review of the serious and worsening shortage of reasonably accessible public parking downtown.

The Problem
Over the past year, parking availability within a reasonable walking distance of the courthouses and downtown professional district has significantly diminished. Three parking garages that previously provided important capacity have permanently closed, displacing those who relied upon them, including monthly parkers. Street parking on and around State Street, Onondaga Boulevard, Jefferson Street, Warren Street, and adjacent streets has also been reduced or restricted. Spaces previously available to the public have been converted to restricted parking for the Sheriff's Office, Syracuse Police Department, other governmental uses, or other restricted purposes.

We recognize and support the need for appropriate accessible/handicap parking and necessary governmental parking. The concern is the cumulative effect of these changes. Remaining garages within a reasonable walking distance often have waiting lists, nearby government lots are unavailable to the public, and the number of people requiring downtown parking has not decreased.

This is not solely an issue affecting attorneys. Downtown Syracuse is home to residents, renters, small businesses, restaurants, professional offices, and other employers that depend upon workable public parking. Thousands of litigants, clients, witnesses, jurors, visitors, attorneys, and other members of the public must also travel to the courthouse district each year.

The Particular Needs of Courthouse Users
Attorneys and other courthouse professionals face scheduling constraints that make reliable parking particularly important. Court appearances cannot simply be interrupted to move a vehicle, add money to a meter, or address a parking problem. Court calendars, hearings, conferences, and trials determine when attorneys must be present and when they are able to leave.

Nor does simply "arriving earlier" resolve the problem. Attorneys routinely travel between courts, client meetings, depositions, law offices, and other professional obligations both inside and outside Syracuse. Their schedules are often dictated by courts and clients rather than by a preferred arrival time.

When nearby parking is unavailable, parking near or beyond Salina Street or James Street can add 15 to 20 minutes or more to the trip between a vehicle and the courthouse. That additional time is significant for someone traveling between scheduled court appearances or other professional obligations, particularly when carrying files, briefcases, computers, exhibits, or other work materials.

Longer walking distances also present legitimate accessibility and safety concerns. During Central New York winters, pedestrian routes may be affected by snow, ice, and slush. Court proceedings also frequently extend into the late afternoon when daylight is limited or has ended. These conditions affect attorneys, courthouse employees, litigants, witnesses, jurors, residents, and visitors alike.

Why the OnCenter Is Not an Adequate Replacement
We recognize that the OnCenter parking facilities may be suggested as an alternative. They do not, however, adequately replace the parking capacity that has been lost within the courthouse and professional district.

The OnCenter is located outside the area where the courthouses, many law offices, and other professional businesses are concentrated. For those who must regularly move between a vehicle, the courthouse, an office, and other appointments, the additional distance is a meaningful practical burden rather than simply an inconvenience.

The OnCenter's flat-fee structure also creates a problem for attorneys and other professionals who must leave downtown and return later the same day. A person who leaves for another court appearance, client meeting, or professional obligation may be required to pay another full daily parking fee upon returning.

A workable downtown parking system should provide reasonable access to the locations people are actually required to visit and should accommodate those whose work requires them to leave and return during the same business day.

Flowbird, Construction, and Temporary Closures
The City's reliance on Flowbird parking meters creates an additional problem for courthouse users when the system freezes, fails to register payment, or otherwise does not function as expected. A person engaged in a court proceeding cannot simply leave a hearing, trial, conference, or calendar to address a meter problem. Users may then be required to spend additional time and money contesting parking tickets they believe resulted from payment-system failures or circumstances outside their control.

The shortage becomes still more difficult when construction, road work, festivals, special events, or temporary street closures eliminate additional public spaces. Although these activities are a necessary part of a functioning downtown, their cumulative impact should be considered when an already limited parking supply is further reduced.

The Broader Impact on Downtown Syracuse
Accessible and predictable parking is important not only to courthouse users but to the continued vitality of downtown Syracuse.

Residents, employees, clients, litigants, visitors, and members of the public should be able to enter downtown, conduct business, patronize restaurants and shops, attend events, and participate in civic life without unreasonable uncertainty about whether parking will be available or how far they will have to travel from their vehicle. Although this letter focuses on one demographic of downtown users and visitors, it is our understanding that other demographics, such as business owners and visitors, clients and witnesses, and visitors of the city in general, are impacted by the parking problem also.

A vibrant downtown should encourage people to come into the City and remain there. A parking system that is unreliable, unpredictable, or increasingly distant from the places people need to reach creates an unnecessary barrier to that goal.

A Request for a Sustainable Solution
The cumulative reduction in public parking has reached a point where the existing system is no longer adequately serving those who live, work, conduct business, and participate in the court system in downtown Syracuse.

For courthouse professionals in particular, the practical alternatives have increasingly become arriving excessively early, risking being late to court or another professional obligation, parking an unreasonable distance from the courthouse while carrying work materials, walking significant distances in winter weather or darkness, or risking parking violations when a court appearance lasts longer than anticipated.

We are not asking the City simply to restore every parking space that has been lost. We are asking for a comprehensive review of the cumulative effect of these changes and for practical, sustainable solutions that recognize how the courthouse and downtown professional district actually function.

Requested Actions
Conduct a comprehensive parking-demand study addressing the courthouse and downtown professional district and the needs of residents, businesses, employees, attorneys, court personnel, litigants, jurors, witnesses, visitors, and other downtown users.
Review the recent removal and restriction of public parking spaces on State Street, Onondaga Boulevard, Jefferson Street, Warren Street, and surrounding streets, and determine whether some of those spaces can reasonably be returned to public parking.
Examine the closure of the three recently closed parking garages and consider how the City can facilitate replacement parking capacity in or near those locations, including the potential use of appropriate City-owned or controlled property.
Consider establishing a permit, monthly parking program, or dedicated parking area for courthouse users and downtown professionals. Similar programs exist in other municipalities and could provide predictable parking while generating parking revenue.
Create a parking option for those who must leave and return downtown during the same day without requiring payment of a second full daily fee. This could include validation, in-and-out privileges, or an identification-based system at an appropriate facility such as the OnCenter.
Review Flowbird's reliability and related enforcement procedures, including reasonable protections for users when a meter or payment system fails.
Coordinate construction, road closures, festivals, and special events with the downtown and courthouse communities so that adequate parking remains available whenever reasonably possible.
Review parking-ticket enforcement and signage in areas affected by temporary restrictions, construction, or payment-system problems, with particular attention to whether restrictions are clearly and sufficiently communicated.
Consult directly with downtown stakeholders, including the local legal community, residents, businesses, and other regular downtown users, before making further significant parking changes. Those who use the downtown parking system every day have firsthand knowledge of the practical effects of these changes and should have an opportunity to participate in the planning process.
We respectfully request that the Mayor, Syracuse Common Council, City parking officials, and other appropriate representatives undertake a meaningful review of this situation and work with the downtown and courthouse communities toward a sustainable solution.

We would welcome the opportunity to meet with City representatives to discuss these concerns and potential solutions.

Thank you for your consideration and for your attention to an issue that directly affects the accessibility, functionality, and vitality of downtown Syracuse.

Respectfully submitted,

The undersigned attorneys, courthouse professionals, and members of the downtown community