Starting November 18, day time parking rates will increase in Old Town.
Under the plan, parking at China Bridge will cost $1 per hour from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The evening rate from 6 p.m. to midnight will be $3 per hour. However, parking longer than four hours is considered all day, and that will cost people a maximum of $30.
China Bridge is currently free until 5 p.m. The new rates will be in place through mid-April around the end of the ski season.
There are also plans to have four free two-hour parking stalls at each China Bridge entrance.
Main Street parking, which is currently restricted to a max of three hours, will cost $3 per hour from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and $5 per hour from 5 p.m. to midnight. It’s currently $1 per hour all day.
The evening rate at Old Town surface lots, such as Bob Wells Plaza in front of City Hall, will cost $4 per hour after 5 p.m. Those will stay at $1 per hour before 5 p.m.
Violators will be ticketed $50 and towed if they are a repeat offender.
Johnny Wasden, the city’s parking manager, said the changes are meant to encourage turnover and eliminate day skier parking in Old Town. It’s also an effort to combat Park City Mountain's new parking reservation policy, which will require visitors to pay $25 for a spot starting in December.
The council could have adopted a wait-and-see approach, with an option to reevaluate in January. The Historic Park City Alliance endorsed that strategy.
But the council said it was better to be proactive than reactive. Adjustments can be made, as the council could come back and evaluate the plan mid-winter.
The council also approved staff’s recommendation to turn the 56-spot Flagpole lot to permitted parking for Old Town employees starting Nov. 18. The lot is directly adjacent to the Old Town Transit Center on Swede Alley and is currently used for visitor parking.
