Raleigh backs off plan to end free parking downtown, but higher rates likely
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Plan before city council keeps first two hours free in five non‑event parking decks.
- Most on‑street meters would rise 25¢ to $1.50/hour for all 1,885 spaces.
- Changes generate nearly $1.8M, leaving tax revenue to cover rest of $8M shortfall.
It will likely cost more to park in downtown Raleigh in the coming year, but not as much as many had feared.
After hearing from downtown businesses, the public and City Council members, the city has come up with a “more modest, measured” approach to wringing revenue from people who park in city garages and on the street, said Paul Kallam, the transportation director.
Under a plan presented to the council Monday, the city would continue to offer two hours of free parking in certain downtown garages and maintain a program that provides free spaces to employees of small businesses.
The price of on-street parking would increase 25 cents an hour in most places, bringing the hourly rate to $1.50 at all 1,885 metered spaces. That’s $1 less an hour than the city initially proposed last month.
New parking rates would be embedded in the city’s budget, which the council must approve before the start of the fiscal year, July 1. The details could still change, but council members said the proposal they heard Monday was more reasonable than the earlier plan.
“I’m really appreciative of the way we have scaled this back,” said Megan Patton, who represents the northeast part of the city. “I think this is moving us in the right direction.”
Here’s what the council is considering:
- The cost to park in the four “event” decks, those closest to the convention center, Red Hat Amphitheater and Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts, would increase from $3 per hour to $4, while the daily maximum would rise from $15 to $24.
- The cost to park in the five other decks downtown would increase from $2 per hour to $3, with the daily maximum rising from $14 to $21.
- The first two hours in the five non-event decks would continue to be free. Non-event decks also will remain free on weekends and after 7 p.m. weekdays.
- Monthly parking rates would increase $10, to $135.
The changes and increases will generate nearly $1.8 million in additional revenue, said Caitlyn Parker, the city’s parking manager. That’s a fraction of the $8 million deficit the city expects from its parking program next year, meaning the rest would have to come from city taxpayers.
Concerns that parking costs will hurt downtown recovery
Council members heard from businesses that downtown is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic and that raising rates and eliminating free parking options will only hurt. Councilman Mitchell Silver, who represents central North Raleigh, said he and other council members were “all a bit shocked” by the city’s earlier proposal and indicated he could support the more modest increases.
“It is a balancing act,” Silver said. “We want to make sure our downtown thrives, but at the same time we need revenue to keep up with maintenance as well as with meters.”
In a region as car-dependent as the Triangle, parking is critical to downtown businesses, said Bill King, president and CEO of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. The proposal to eliminate free parking on nights and weekends and take away vouchers small businesses give to their employees alarmed many downtown, King said.
“Overall, this is a big improvement from where they were a month ago,” he said of the city’s latest plan.
King said he was still concerned about increasing the cost of on-street parking by a quarter an hour, particularly because the city doesn’t have updated data on demand for metered spaces. He worries even a modest hike in rates could discourage some visitors.
“I certainly recognize that it’s not a huge increase,” he said. “But we’re still recovering years later. We’ve made good progress, but we’re not all the way back.”
