Parking Fee Changes to Take Effect on April 1

Parking fee changes for the downtown garage, beach lots and street meters will take effect April 1 after winning City Council approval this week.

People who use the Main Promenade parking structure will no longer get 90 minutes free, as in the past. But an hour of free parking will be available on weekdays until 6 p.m., and customers will be able to park free for three hours with validation from local merchants.

Rates will be $2 for the first hour without validation and $1 for each additional hour, to a $5 maximum.

Community Services Director Ron Hagan said the change was necessary because the old system was not efficient. “We had this hodgepodge of different rates and rules that were leading to a lot of problems,” Hagan said.

The changes, he said, are designed to encourage people who shop, eat or attend movies downtown to use the facility with free validation and to discourage vagrancy and vandalism.

The 90 minutes of free parking, he said, had allowed the structure to be used as a hangout, and that had led to graffiti and other destruction to public property.

Also, the parking structure costs $720,000 to operate annually, including a $600,000 bond payment, but has been taking in only $345,000 in revenue a year, Hagan said. Under the new fee schedule, he said, the city hopes to break even.

The council also approved charging $1 an hour at all downtown parking meters. It had been 75 cents in residential areas and $1.50 in recreation areas, Hagan said, which encouraged beach-goers to park in neighborhoods for the lower rate.

“Now the incentive is convenience, not cost,” he said.

Parking passes will still be available at no charge to residents who have meters in front of their homes. Meters in business zones will remain at $1 an hour.