This article was updated on Feb. 18 at 7:20 p.m. to include comments from Brian Jackson, president of the Chamber of Commerce.
The Rye City Council voted to increase the hourly parking fee in its Central Business District by 25 cents to $1.25, marking the first rate hike since 2012.
Officials estimate the increase, which goes into effect on March 15, will result in an additional $100,000 in city revenue.
The vote passed 5-2 at the council’s Wednesday meeting, with Democratic Councilwoman Julie Souza and Mayor Josh Cohn, who is politically unaffiliated, voting against the measure.
“I’m concerned about making [parking] more expensive when we have such an acute parking problem,” Cohn said, referencing the growing concern with the overall lack of parking in the downtown area.
“Obviously we would all like more revenue for the city,” but Cohn said he’d have to reconsider if “I want to come to the central business district during certain hours of the day.”
Democratic Councilman Josh Nathan did not think the parking meter cost would affect the city’s ability to solve the parking problem. Nathan said he sees the issue as a matter of revenue and whether alternative revenue sources can help keep taxes down.
Souza voted against the measure after first delaying the vote from the Jan. 29 meeting in order to solicit input from the Chamber of Commerce.
Those conversations with the chamber have since taken place as the organization has tried to gain a clearer understanding of the City Council’s rationale, according to Brian Jackson, president of the Chamber of Commerce.
“As the liaison to the chamber, I think the concern is that there are a lot of employees that use these lots and they’re hourly employees,” Souza said. “There’s general lack of support for this from the Chamber.”
Patrick Corcoran, owner of Arcade Booksellers on Purchase Street, is “sure” merchants and customers are not “happy about it.”
“Parking has always been a problem in Rye. I don’t know why they did that,” Corcoran told The Record.
The measure to raise hourly parking fees downtown was originally part of the 2025 fiscal year budget discussions — which took place in November and December — but the council voted to table the matter until early this year.
During the 13 years since the last parking increase , which raised rates from 75 cents to $1 per hour, inflation has gone up about 40 percent, according to City Manager Greg Usry.
Instead of the physical pay stations, many visitors shopping in the downtown use a parking app, Passport, where they are charged 45 cents per transaction, 10 cents of which goes to the city and 35 cents goes to the app vendor.
“While no one is ecstatic that an increase needs to be made … we trust the city will spend those monies wisely and efficiently for the betterment of merchants, shoppers and employees parking experience in the downtown area,” Jackson said.
Rye allocates approximately $190,000 annually for pothole repairs, maintenance, sweeping, and cleaning of downtown parking lots. Depending on the severity of winter, the city spends an additional $50,000 to $125,000 on salting and snow removal, Usry said.
And this past year, the city has also done extensive work in the shopping district, including a$443,000 redesign of Parking Lot 1, the city lot located between Elm Place and Locust Avenue just west of Purchase Street. They also spent $25,000 to replace the guardrails in the lot behind the TD bank building on Ridge Street and have been pursuing a grant for the estimated $1.3 million replacement of the parking lot behind Crisfield’s Prime Meats on Purchase Street.
