BAR HARBOR, Maine — Bar Harbor residents will have two free hours of paid parking in downtown each week via a “coupon” policy run through the town’s parking kiosks and app.
The proposal was introduced in the beginning of July and approved by the Town Council on Tuesday with one tweak and one expressed concern.
The original proposal would have extended paid parking hours on Sunday mornings to make up for the lost revenue from the free parking allowance.
That change did not go through.
Vice Chair Earl Brechlin led the unanimous charge to keep those Sunday parking hours free for everyone who parks downtown.
Parking fees netted $4.3 million in the last fiscal year, more than double the revenue collected in fiscal year 2022-23.
The town is not sure exactly how much the new free parking allowance for residents will reduce parking revenue, but they’ve estimated a maximum of $832,000 would be needed to cover the loss.
The new policy also dedicates “one dollar of each hourly premium paid parking fee collected” into a capital improvement account “for future public parking facilities, parking infrastructure, transportation improvements, and other parking-related capital projects” according to the council order.
To cover those costs so that the town budget isn’t increased, but also to try to encourage parking turnover in spots, the town raised some parking fees to premium paid parking spaces in town and incorporated a few other changes for the town of roughly 5,000 year-round residents that supports Acadia National Park and its 4 million annual visits.
Paid parking on multiple streets in town as well as town-owned lots would be increased to $6 an hour from $4. Other kiosk areas would be $2 an hour. The change in premium parking rates begins Aug. 4.
Employee parking permits for those working at downtown businesses cost $30.
Overnight parking in the ferry terminal site would increase to $20 a night from $12.
Paid parking is proposed to begin earlier in the season — on May 1, rather than May 15.
“By reinvesting parking revenues into parking facilities, pedestrian infrastructure, bicycle accommodation, traffic management improvements, and other transportation initiatives, the Town can ensure that future infrastructure decisions improve overall mobility while preserving or expanding public parking opportunities,” Town Manager James Smith wrote in the July 2 memo.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Town Council Chair Maya Caines expressed concern for employees of Bar Harbor businesses who don’t work in the downtown area. Also during the meeting, a member of the public asked for consideration for employees of businesses that don’t have a physical office location but do business downtown.
This story was originally published by The Bar Harbor Story. To receive regular coverage from the Bar Harbor Story, sign up for a free subscription here.