Thanks to Lexington city cash, parking enforcement on Saturdays will soon be nixed
The city of Lexington has tentatively agreed to pay the Lexington Parking Authority an additional $200,000 each year for city employee parking in the authority’s garages.
The additional payment from the city will help the Lexington Parking Authority, called LexPark, offset revenue losses it was going to gain from expanded meter hour enforcement and rate hikes. That means those expanded enforcement hours will soon be eliminated on Saturdays and curtailed on weekday nights.
“We have worked hard over many years to make Lexington’s restaurant scene one of the nation’s best, and to keep our downtown lively,” said Mayor Linda Gorton “As we emerge from the pandemic, we don’t want to harm our restaurants or downtown night life by limiting parking options.”
The Lexington Parking Authority announced in December that it would expand enforcement hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
The new enforcement hours and rate increases took effect Jan. 3.
With the influx of city money, the parking authority has previously said it will be able to nix parking enforcement on Saturday and change enforcement from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.
Businesses and many downtown residents pushed back against the expanded enforcement hours after they were announced in December.
Lexpark has said a new 6% sales tax, loss of revenue during the coronavirus pandemic and increased costs related to the city’s four public parking garages necessitated the expansion of enforcement hours and the rate hikes. In addition, Lexpark is expected to lose north of $300,000 a year from meters that were around the University of Kentucky.
The city gave those streets to the university in a land swap a few years ago.
The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council gave first reading to a new agreement that would increase the amount of money the city pays for city employee parking.
Beginning July 1, the city will increase the amount it pays to park 620 employee vehicles, including police cruisers, in downtown garages operated by LexPark. Currently the city pays half the cost to park those vehicles. Under the new plan, the city will pay the government rate, an increase of about $200,000 a year.
“I am so pleased that the Lexington Parking Authority and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government have come together to find common ground on resolving this issue” said James Frazier, chair of the Lexington Parking Authority board.
The Lexington Parking Authority board is expected to vote on the changes to parking enforcement at a meeting next week. The authority has given warnings since the new enforcement hours were announced in January.
