2018 Proposed Parking Rate Restructuring

Following the collection of extensive parking data over the past few months, at its next meeting on June 7 at 6:30pm at 98 Washington Street, the Traffic and Parking Commission will begin a discussion on proposed parking rate restructuring for downtown Salem. It has been nearly 10 years since the City’s last comprehensive review of parking rates, and in that time the parking issues in Salem have changed dramatically. In 2010, the goal was to restructure rates in order to move cars into underutilized locations. Today, those locations have, in some cases, become over-utilized as the City has seen continued economic growth and commercial activity throughout downtown and along the waterfront. Salem garages routinely hit 85% capacity on weekdays and weekends, and on-street parking is equally scarce. What is more, while parking rates have been unchanged in this time, over the same period the cost for maintenance and upgrades to these parking facilities has only grown. By restructuring rates we can both better manage parking utilization and also fund these costs through revenues paid by those who use the parking, without needing to overly rely on taxpayers.