After years of analysis and debate, the beginning of a sweeping set of changes to Concord’s parking system will take effect beginning Sunday.
While downtown, with its expanded enforcement hours and increased meter rates, gets a lot of attention, everywhere from the garages to the University of New Hampshire School of Law to the Heights and Penacook will see the difference in how the city enforces, collects revenue from and manages its parking resources.
The changes will be the first step in turning the parking fund’s finances around, said deputy city manager of redevelopment Matt Walsh. The fund has operated at a loss since 2007, he said.
It may be some time before the fund is in the black; the City Council voted to keep $100,000 worth of non-meter ticket revenues in the general fund a few weeks ago, meaning the parking fund will probably have a $50,000 deficit at the end of this fiscal year, Walsh said.
But with so many changes coming in, it’s hard to predict how things will shake out, Walsh said.
“Budgets are predictions, and there’s a lot of moving pieces on this one,” he said.
Either way, the changes represent a shift in how the city sees parking, Walsh said; not just as lines on the pavement, but as a “utility,” he said.
And really, the new fiscal year is just the first step, Walsh said. “I’m thinking of the recommendations that are supposed to happen in fiscal year 2020,” he said. “Fiscal year 2019 is already behind us.”
Here’s a breakdown of what to expect. For a complete breakdown, check out Walsh’s 26-page report available online.
Downtown parking rates will increase from 75 cents to $1 an hour. Motorists will get an extra hour to park in downtown spaces, as the limit will increase from two to three hours.
Parking in the city’s garages would remain 50 cents an hour to incentivize their use. Rates for the city’s open-air lots will also be reduced from 75 cents to 50 cents per hour. Garages will remain free on Saturdays.
Enforcement hours on the streets will now go from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
The number of meters will also increase in the city this year, spreading to include Dixon Ave, the lower half of Concord Street and extended to Christ the King Church on South Main Street.
Streets surrounding the downtown will see the introduction of 10-hour meters, including areas on Storrs, South State, Green, Park, Capitol School, South, Pleasant, Warren and Centre streets.
But not much of the above changes will matter without increased enforcement.
Walsh said the city is looking to hire a total of four new positions to help enforce parking in the downtown and neighborhood streets in Penacook and the Heights. The goal is to fill those positions in October, but with a tight labor market, it’s unclear if those positions will start on time, Walsh said.
Parking tickets for expired meters will increase from $10 to $15. Other tickets will also see an increase: parking in a reserved space would go from $20 to $25; parking in a “no parking” area would go from $15 to $20; an encumbered meter ticket would go from $10 to $15; parking outside the lines would go from $5 to $10; and parking where a residential permit is required would go from $10 to $15.
Those changes are expected to bring in $610,000 worth of revenue each year.
Perhaps one of the largest changes will be to the city switching its garages leasing system to a permitting system, which Walsh said has “a large potential to help the parking fund get to the next level.”
Four types of permits for the State Street and School Street garages will be offered: an all-day shared parking permit for $1,365 a year; an all-day reserved space permit for $2,040 a year; and a morning/afternoon shared permit, each $682.50 a year.
Leases have long been viewed as a mismanagement of the city’s resources, Walsh said. An average of 40 to 50 percent of the garages’s reserved spaces are vacant at any time but are unusable to the general population. In addition, tenants displaced by snow or a squatter end up having to pay for parking or getting the squatter towed.
And because of some long-standing leases, only about 24 percent of lessees are paying market rate for their spots, Walsh said.
The city is also planning to be more aggressive with keeping track of residential permits for Essex, Blanchard, Rowell streets and Perry Avenue. The cost will remain at $5, but the city will be requiring annual renewal of the permits and require that the permits be turned in if the resident relocates. Only two permits are allowed per dwelling unit, but those with unique hardships will be offered the chance to get additional permits.
A host of new features are also expected to be coming online in the next year.
For one, there’s ParkConcordNH.com, which will have all the parking information you need consolidated into one spot. That’s expected to come online soon, Walsh said.
In addition, motorists will be able to apply for permits and pay parking tickets online. A pay-by-cell application is also being looked at.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)