Parking changes aren’t coming just to downtown St. Paul. Patrons of shops along Grand Avenue, Ford Parkway, Arcade Street and a handful of other commercial strips in the city may need to plug a meter in exchange for a parking spot as early as the spring.

Tucked into St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman’s recently released 2016 budget proposal is a parking pilot program that aims to install meters in at least one of 12 retail districts outside the downtown area. The goal is, among other things, to increase parking turnover so that it’s easier for potential customers to find spots, while increasing revenue for the city.

Aside from a few meters along University and Raymond avenues, the parking expansion would be the first time meters have been placed outside downtown.

Areas under consideration include Arcade Street, Payne Avenue, Grand Avenue, Cesar Chavez Street, Como Boulevard, Ford Parkway, Raymond Avenue, Rice Street, Selby Avenue, East and West Seventh Street, Snelling Avenue and University Avenue.

With Coleman’s plan to extend evening parking hours at downtown meters stealing much of the spotlight in his budget address, the neighborhood pilot hasn’t received much attention yet. But many of the potentially affected business owners who have begun talking about it worry it will discourage patronage and push cars onto residential streets.

“The general consensus from the people I’ve talked to so far is it’s a bad idea,” said Anne DeJoy, board treasurer for the Payne Arcade Business Association. “I understand people expect to pay for parking in downtown. … That’s not the case in our older commercial district. … It just seems like a disincentive for (customers).”

Many businesses along Ford Parkway and Grand Avenue also are opposed so far, according to those streets’ business associations.

About 86 percent of members who responded to a survey circulated by the Grand Avenue Business Association said they didn’t like the plan, particularly if the money fed to meters doesn’t benefit the commercial district, said Jon Perrone, executive director of the business association.

A representative for the West Side Community Organization hadn’t heard anything about the proposal. Another for the West Seventh Business Association said it provides more questions than answers right now.

City staff will begin studying the corridors in October with plans to recommend one in December to the St. Paul City Council that would serve as the site for the meter pilot. If approved, meters would be installed along the street in May, said Ellen Biales, administrative programs manager for St. Paul’s Public Works Department.

The city would analyze the impacts of the meters next fall.

Though a rough timeline is in place, Biales said much of the plans for the pilot are still vague as staff prepare for the downtown meter changes coming Jan. 1.

“I recognize that people in the neighborhoods are eager to begin this conversation, but we have a lot going on in Public Works right now, so we just haven’t been able to get there yet,” Biales said. “There is a lot to consider. … You can’t just plunk a meter down anywhere.”

She added that more than one street segment could be chosen for the pilot.

Prompted by a parking study of downtown St. Paul last year, the expanded meter strategy aims to help spur economic development, increase parking turnover in busy commercial districts sometimes clogged with cars camped out for several hours, and add to the city’s coffers, Biales said.

Facing a $10 million deficit in 2016, the mayor wants to bring in an additional $1.25 million over the next two years from meter collections, with about $400,000 coming from the parking pilot. The rest would come from downtown meter changes. The city expects to collect about $2.4 million from meters in 2015, Biales said.

Meters have long spilled beyond the borders of downtown across the river.

Minneapolis’ last major installation was in 2011, when the city added about 600 meters to the North Loop after Target Field was built, said William Cieminski, parking system manager in Minneapolis.

He said he couldn’t recall widespread opposition to any of the city’s meters in recent years, likely because the turnover created by them benefits both businesses and customers, Cieminski said.

He added that their revenue helped the city pay for its parking ramps and offsets other city expenses.

“It makes sense in areas where there is higher demand than there is space because you want a way to encourage that turnover,” he said. “If you don’t have a turnover issue, then meters not only wouldn’t be necessary, they wouldn’t generate any revenue because people would just find other places to park.”

That’s part of what worries Kari Tierney, executive director of the Highland Business Association. Tierney said turnover isn’t a problem along Ford Parkway, nor do employees take up prime spots the way they reportedly do downtown.

“A lot of our businesses are concerned this will only push parking into the neighborhoods,” Tierney said.

Another concern for some is that installing meters on select street segments could create competition between commercial districts.

Others said businesses might be more open to it if the meter revenue is funneled back to the area. Council Member Dave Thune said he would like to see that idea included in the final parking plan so the change can be a “win-win” for both the neighborhoods and the city.

He added that the time is right to consider the parking shift, particularly along Grand Avenue.

“We have pretty much gone through all the lists of tools that we can to balance parking for residents and businesses (on Grand). … This is the logical next step,” he said.

Council Member Chris Tolbert said he’s not inclined to support it in Highland Park given the feedback he’s heard thus far. He added that the city should engage all the affected constituents before making a decision.

“This shouldn’t be something where the city just says we’re putting meters in,” he said.

The council is expected to vote on the parking pilot location(s) in December.

Sarah Horner can be reached at 651-228-5539. Follow her at twitter.com/hornsarah.