Motorists pay more than $700,000 a year to park their vehicles on Buffalo’s business strips, including the Elmwood Village, Hertel Avenue, Allen Street and the Chippewa entertainment district.

A proposal will be introduced this week that aims to plow some of the money back into the neighborhood where it was raised.

Put simply, a percentage of the quarters plunked into pay-and-display machines or meters would be set aside for improvements in the neighborhood where the revenue was collected. The funding could be later used for landscaping, benches, lighting improvements, new bicycle lanes, facade improvements or a variety of other enhancements.

Other cities have created what are known as “parking-benefit districts,” including Austin, Texas, and Pasadena, Calif. When the Common Council meets Tuesday, Delaware Council Member Michael J. LoCurto will present a resolution that encourages Buffalo to consider creating such special districts.

“The city is making money off the success of these business strips,” Lo-Curto said. “This plan would give some of the money back and help to foster the continued success of these areas.”

Buffalo’s parking-enforcement director said officials in Mayor Byron W. Brown’s administration have been discussing the concept for a year. Leonard G. Sciolino thinks that parking-benefit districts have the potential to help commercial strips.

But with the state budget crisis casting a cloud of uncertainty over Buffalo’s aid from Albany, Sciolino said the Brown administration is leery about pursuing new programs that could limit the city’s flexibility to spend funds where the needs are most pressing.

Still, LoCurto’s bill is being well received in some neighborhood commercial districts. Jeff Rinaldo, president of the Hertel-North Buffalo Business Association, supports designating Hertel as a parking-benefit district.

The association spends a lot of money each year plowing walkways along Hertel and launching other improvements, Rinaldo said. Creating new revenue streams in various business districts could help fund major initiatives.

One possible improvement might involve steps to ease a severe parking shortage along Hertel. If the city channeled a percentage of its meter revenues to the district, the money could help pay for leasing private lots to accommodate customers during busy periods.

The money could also be invested in cleaning graffiti, planting trees and other projects that would strengthen commercial strips, Rinaldo said.

“This would be good for the city and good for the businesses,” he said.