It’ll be pay-to-park starting Monday, Feb. 9, in parts of Old Towne Orange, the largest historic district in the state.
The popular destination has struggled with traffic congestion as visitors circled looking for spots, a city-commissioned study said, and charging for parking with time limits would help with turnover, so the City Council decided last year to “bite the political bullet” and establish a paid parking program in Old Towne’s commercial core, which a consultant recommended for alleviating issues, Mayor Dan Slater said.
“I would prefer there were no parking fees,” Slater said.
“But the problem is there’s so many employees downtown now that they take up all the best parking, and they take it up all day long,” he said. “And then the side benefits, of course, it will increase revenue. But that’s certainly not a bad thing, considering where we are at in the city right now.”
The council voted for paid parking while facing a general fund budget shortfall of $19 million. That deficit slimmed to about $2.6 million this fiscal year after the city explored new revenue streams and made steep spending cuts, officials said.
A staff report to councilmembers said the city could expect to make $900,000 from the parking this year, and $1.2 million annually thereafter.
“What the program will do is decrease traffic downtown because you won’t have all these people searching for parking spaces,” Slater said. “There’ll be more readily available. And that’s the goal.”
Here are some things to know about the new parking program:
Q. What, when and where should I pay?
A. Visitors who park within two blocks of Plaza Park and the city’s traffic circle will need to pay, and they can do that at one of the 18 payment kiosks that were installed in December.
Paid parking will be enforced 9 a.m. through 6 p.m. daily, including holidays, with fees ranging.
On-street parking will cost between $1.50 and $2 per hour, depending on location, with a two-hour time limit. Paid city parking lots will cost $1.25 to park and will be capped at three hours.
Visitors can pay through the ParkMobile app or text-to-pay, and also use those methods to remotely add more time, up to the time limit, to stay parked. Look for signs around the area with more information.
A license plate reader program will be used to enforce the pay parking and limits. Scofflaws face tickets.
Q. Where will it remain free?
A. Visitors who park west of Lemon Street and east of Grand Street won’t have to pay.
There are more than 1,000 free parking spaces in those areas, officials said, including the Lemon Street parking structure, the largest in Old Towne. Parking will also be free for those who visit the Orange Senior Center and Orange Public Library.
And those with valid state-issued disabled plates will be exempt from paying to park anywhere in Old Towne, as long as their plates or placards are clearly in view.
Q. Who can apply for parking permits?
A. Residents who live within the paid parking zone. Those who are eligible can apply for parking permits, at no cost, at cityoforange.org/paidparkingpermit.
Employees and business owners who work within the paid parking zone are encouraged to park out of the commercial core, city officials said, and in free city-owned lots and spaces that do not have time limits.
“There currently is not a business option,” city spokesperson Charlene Cheng said. The council discussed one, but held off.
“Once the paid parking program launches, the city will closely track how both paid and free parking areas are being used,” Cheng said. “A business program may be revisited in the future.”