‘Mug’ drivers furious as parking charges double in certain areas – walks are ‘murdering the city centre’

DRIVERS have accused city leaders of ripping them off after doubling parking fees to help fund $10 million in maintenance projects.

Councilors have also been criticized for “murdering the town centre”, as opponents of the rate rise warn shoppers will spend their money elsewhere.

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Iowa’s city council has given the green light to a flurry of parking fee increases, starting July 1, 2024.

“Parking fees and parking violation fines will increase in Iowa City for the first time since 2013,” the report said. website announced.

Rates will increase throughout downtown, including ramp parking, which will cost $2 per hour, up from $1.

Fees for metered parking in the Central Business District will also double, to $3 per hour.

Far from the city center, people will have to pay US$1.50 per hour, up from US$0.75 or US$1.00 in outlying areas.

Literally doubling your revenue. Theft.

Iowa City residentReddit

The pay spikes sparked criticism on Reddit, with one person complaining that the increases were larger than expected.

“This is the murder of service personnel from the city center”, complained a worker at the forum.

“If I leave my car on the ramp, will I pay $16 after a shift? That might be 1/4 of my tips on an early shift.

“The parking department had revenue of $5.9 million in fiscal year 2023 and spent $4.1 million.

“Does this mean that despite maintenance on the parking lots last year, they kept almost $2 million last year alone, yet they feel the need to steal from us?

“Put meters at moped sites, don’t make Iowa City more uninhabitable for the rest of us.”

TOWING FEARS

“Literally doubling your revenue. Robbery,” wrote another on Reddit.

“Parking is now as expensive as some streets in Chicago – a little ridiculous,” one person said.

And there was some advice from someone who was worried about the financial impact.

“I think they should bring back validated parking lots. It seems that fewer and fewer locals are coming downtown, even when the students are away,” they said.

The increase will help cover costs.

Iowa City Council

“While $2/hour isn’t that expensive to park, it’s yet another reason for people to avoid going downtown.”

There was also discussion about towing and parking tickets in Iowa.

“When I worked downtown, I played with tickets instead of feeding the meter. You have to pay for the tickets immediately, otherwise they will tow you,” said an employee.

PARKING FINES

Parking fines have also increased in Iowa, with a second parking meter violation costing drivers $10 as of July 1, up from $7.

Those caught committing their sixth parking meter offense will be fined $40 – considerably more than the current $25.

The first offense will only attract a warning.

“You can get a parking ticket once every hour in a metered zone,” said the advice he said.

Another common parking violation is parking a vehicle on the street for more than 48 hours.

“Vehicles must be moved at least 20 feet apart during each 48-hour period to avoid a citation,” he warned.

But the council maintained the increases were needed to pay for other local projects.

Furthermore, the objective is to increase parking availability, to allow more shoppers to visit local businesses.

“Due to the high demand for parking in downtown Iowa City, parking services promotes rotation of on-street (metered) parking spaces in downtown,” he said.

“Current revenue from parking fees only covers 22% of the parking division budget.”

He added that several maintenance projects totaling more than $10 million in costs will need to be completed on the city’s parking ramps in the coming years.

“The increase will help cover these costs.”