Paid Parking Returns to Downtown Galveston

Paid Parking Returns to Downtown Galveston
07/15/10

City officials anticipate all parking stations will be in the ground by the end of the month. Enforcement begins this week.
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Paid parking will soon return to Galveston Island’s downtown. In 2008, flood waters from Hurricane Ike destroyed 915 of the City’s parking meters. The City, with help from FEMA and guidance from the Downtown Merchants Oversight Committee, revamped the original meter footprint and applied for an improved project covering just the immediate downtown area.

City officials anticipate all parking stations will be in the ground by the end of the month.

Courtesy notices announcing paid parking’s return to downtown patrons, residents, and merchants have been in circulation. Officials are cautioning drivers: no grace period.

After a carefully documented process crews are now busy installing parking stations through out the downtown area. Numbered spaces with defined boundaries are part of the new downtown paid parking program. So are parking ambassadors, a uniformed group of trained employees who will function as way-finders and mobile visitor centers in addition to enforcing necessary parking regulations.

Adding to the innovative technology these smart parking stations will allow the parking public to pay by cash, change, or credit card and purchase additional time in their numbered slot via their cell phone. The meters also supply a Wi-Fi signal to downtown that can be accessed by visitors, businesses, and residents.

In the event of another storm, components will be removed and transported out of harm’s way.

In August 2009 the Galveston City Council entered into a public-private partnership with Ampco System Parking. Under the agreement Ampco will manage the downtown parking program as part of a revenue sharing arrangement. The City’s portion of the parking collections will first go to pay down the grant matching funds and the balance will go to the Galveston Island Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to promote and market the Island’s downtown.

Downtown Galveston Paid Parking: Fee: $1.25/hour
Operation: 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Monday – Saturday pay to park
Sundays free to park

Area: 20th to 25th Streets; Harborside Drive to Post Office Street.

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