Sacramento council could repeal free on-street parking measures put in place when COVID hit
The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday will consider repealing the free parking measures the city put in place when the coronavirus pandemic struck.
In spring 2020, the city stopped issuing on-street parking tickets unless it triggered a safety issue, such as a vehicle blocking a fire hydrant or driveway, city spokeswoman Jennifer Singer said. If a driver did not pay the meter or left the vehicle in the space longer than they were supposed to, for example, the city has been giving them warnings, Singer said.
During the pandemic, the city also has been providing free parking at meters after 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends, according to a city staff report. It also has been waiving a $15 fee that the city normally imposes if a parking ticket isn’t paid after 35 days.
The council could repeal all of those measures Tuesday. If the council votes to do so, the city would go back to its pre-pandemic parking enforcement policies on Jan. 3, Singer said.
“While (the resolutions) provided much-needed economic relief during the height of the pandemic, these orders are now impacting businesses’ efforts to recover by limiting the turnover of parking spaces,” the staff report said.
A recent study of parking spaces near “vibrant” businesses showed that up to 46% of those parking spaces were occupied by vehicles parking over the two-hour parking time limit, the staff report said.
Businesses have been reaching out to the city asking for the measures to be lifted, Singer said.
Even if the council repeals the measures, parking at meters would remain free on Sundays, except in Old Sacramento, Singer said.
The city relies on parking revenue to cover much of the bond debt from building the downtown Golden 1 Center. During the pandemic, the city pulled $11.75 million from the general fund to make a bond payment earlier this year.
Parking at meters would still be free on most city-observed holidays. It would also be free after 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and on weekends during the Holiday Parking Program, from Nov. 25 through Dec. 26.
The council meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Tuesday. It will be livestreamed on the city’s website.
This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
