Visitors to downtown Lexington, later this spring, will experience the first parking meter rate increase in 10 years.
Officials with the Lexington and Fayette County Parking Authority made the announcement Tuesday.
Authority Executive Director Gary Means says the increase, from $1.00 per hour to $1.50 per hour, will take effect March first. He says meters on the busiest streets in the core area around downtown and the University of Kentucky campus will be affected. One of the goals is to increase parking turnover.
He says, “We have a lot of need for revenue because one program is ‘on street and off street’ we call it. So the garages use revenues from the meters and in the garages to maintain the garages. And we are self-funded. There’s no taxpayer money that goes into the Lex Park program. So we’ve got to get the money somewhere. So it was about time for a rate increase.”
Means says cities like Louisville and Cincinnati charge $2.00 per hour to park. He adds the increase puts Lexington at the same maximum rate as Nashville and Indianapolis.
