LOUISVILLE, Ky. — If you’re a driver who uses parking garages or on-street meters, get ready to pay more out of your pocket.
The Parking Authority of River City said rates will increase beginning Jan. 1.
The increase covers a new state parking sales tax taking effect next year as well as revenue loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This stems from House Bill 8, passed by the Kentucky General Assembly, which requires sales tax to be collected on those parking fees.
That 6% tax will be for parking services – surface lots, garages and meters. The expected annual budget impact for PARC is $1 million.
“PARC cannot absorb the increased expense incurred by the new sales tax. Our organization is completely self-funded, and 100 percent of our revenues are reinvested back into our parking structures and services. In order to stay that way over the long term, we must raise our hourly, daily and monthly parking rates. A rate increase is something that we have considered and needed for a while; however, we held off during the COVID-19 pandemic to support businesses, particularly those downtown,” PARC Director Mike Tudor said in a statement.
The increases will also help PARC cover annual capital expenses as well as infrastructure improvements. Tudor said the increases ensures a safe, clean, experience in their parking garages.
PARC said their operating expenses annually to maintain garages is nearly $8.5 million. However, the two years during the pandemic, they lost $4 million annually and was forced to tap into their savings fund to help maintenance costs.
If you use their garages, parking will remain $1 for the first half-hour and PARC will not extend paid parking hours on the street. Drivers still have the ability to park on the street for free after 6 p.m. and free parking will remain on Sundays.
Drivers who are doing take-out can use the free 15-minute parking at metered spaces near the entrance of the restaurant by turning on their flashers.
To help drivers save money, PARC is introducing discounted daily parking in their garages through www.parcdaypass.com. They said discounts will go up to half off the daily rate and encourages parkers to book their parking space before coming downtown for business or pleasure. However, the discounts will not apply to event parking.
Here is an example of the new rates:
Monthly Unreserved Parking
$96.07 - Current Average Rate
$107.14 - New Average Rate
Monthly Reserved Parking
$115.83 - Current Average Rate
$133.38 - New Average Rate
Transient Hourly Parking
$2.00 - Current Average Rate
$3.00 - New Average Rate
Transient All-Day Parking
$20.00 - Current Average Rate
$22.00 - New Average Rate
On-Street Meter Parking (first 2 hours)
$2.00/hour - Current Average Rate
$2.25/hour - New Average Rate
On-Street Meter Parking (after first 2 hours)
$3.00/hour - Current Average Rate
$3.35/hour - New Average Rate
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