Portland’s largest parking meter rate hike in history hit the streets Tuesday amid ongoing financial trouble for the city’s cash-strapped Transportation Bureau.
Increases ranging between 40 cents and 60 cents per hour apply to all five of the city’s parking meter districts and are expected to generate an additional $5.5 million annually, according to the bureau.
Hourly street parking is now $3 in downtown; $2.60 in Northwest Portland and Marquam Hill; $2 in the Central Eastside; and $1.80 in the Lloyd District.
The city will also continue to levy up to 60 cents in assorted fees, including a 20-cent “climate and equitable mobility” surcharge first adopted in 2022, for each parking meter transaction.
In addition, parking near the Moda Center increased from $3 per hour to $5 and meters near Providence Park are set to go up from $5 per hour to $7 in January. Beginning in August, the city also plans to phase in extended parking meter hours to 10 p.m., up from 7 p.m., across all districts.
Combined, those changes are expected to net the city another $1.35 million more each year.
“Parking data shows that there is rising demand for space across the city as vibrant events, shopping and dining continue to grow and expand across Portland,” the Transportation Bureau said in statement Tuesday. “The cost of on-street parking in Portland remains substantially lower than most major West Coast cities.”
Earlier this year, the bureau had faced a nearly $40 million revenue shortfall as it continues to struggle with declining revenues, rising costs and competing priorities. The new parking meter hikes, along with increasing fees on Uber and Lyft riders from 65 cents per trip to $2, has helped close a portion of that gap.
However, the city says it is also now out $11 million in anticipated revenue after state lawmakers failed to pass a massive transportation package that had earmarked funding to Oregon cities and local governments.
That alone could lead to more than 50 layoffs at the Transportation Bureau and plunge Portland’s crumbling streets and sidewalks into further disrepair, Mayor Keith Wilson warned earlier this week.
Correction: A previous version of this article did not include the full range of parking meter rate increases and extended parking meter hours throughout the city. The Oregonian/OregonLive regrets this error.
— Shane Dixon Kavanaugh covers Portland city government and politics, with a focus on accountability and watchdog reporting. Reach him at 503-294-7632 or skavanaugh@oregonian.com.
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