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Mayor Keith Wilson on Wednesday ditched his directive that extended paid parking hours in certain parts of the city to 10 pm, a move he made this summer that angered both residents and members of the Portland City Council.
Certain parts of the central city saw paid parking hours extend from 7 pm to 10 pm this fall, a move Wilson said would increase revenue for the city’s Portland Bureau of Transportation. The extension of hours coincided with an increase in hourly parking fees, a move approved by the council during this summer’s budget process.
While the council voted to increase fees to help close the transportation bureau’s budget gap, the council had no say in Wilson’s decision to extend the paid parking hours by three hours. Councilors voiced their displeasure in September, saying it felt like an administrative overreach.
“We could revert back to the paid parking hours as they were on the last fiscal year if we want to get serious,” Zimmerman pitched to his colleagues during a Sept. 18 council meeting, “and take back our control as the legislative body at this city.”
Wilson appears to have gotten the message. In a Wednesday statement, he said he was reverting all paid parking hours to a 7 pm cutoff starting Oct. 15.
“As we rolled out new parking rates, we heard concerns from residents, businesses and Council members about the timing and impact of extended evening hours,” Wilson said. “While the increased hourly rate has been broadly accepted, our downtown economy is still in recovery, and we need to ensure that our parking policies support evening activity and small businesses.”
