The Meters Were Step 1
By: Mr. Wilson on
May 31, 2013
Lincoln's Downtown parking meters have all been upgraded to fancy new digital models. That was big news a couple months ago. At the time, some people bemoaned the change, fearing it would lead to broader parking rate increases. A tipster sent this in to me this morning:
Just wanted to pass this on. Last weekend my dad went to the farmers market and parked in [a] garage. They stayed less than an hour (first hour free is advertised) but when they left, they were charged $3. He had a long conversation with Park and Go. They are removing the first hour free on Saturdays. This is something that I kind of saw coming when we talked about the new meters that they can adjust for football Saturday. This allows them to continue to charge $12+ on game day while also getting the same out of the meters. I have also started seeing signs that read that the one hour free ends at 5.I haven't verified any of this just yet, though I have asked via Twitter. The Park & Go website doesn't mention any restrictions on the "first hour free" promotion. If these changes are true, then the website is now misleading at best. It's possible, though, that what the tipster's father actually ran into was special event parking rates. They were charged $3 for "less than an hour" which is far above the normal rate of $1 per hour. Typically those special event rates are collected upon entrance to the garage, though. I haven't been down to the Farmer's Market in ages so I can't say for sure what the parking situation is like. Ultimately we're left with a couple questions:
- Is "first hour free" gone on Saturdays at some or all of the parking garages?
- Does "first hour free" end at 5pm, or any other time?
- Why was somebody charged $3 upon exiting a $1/hour parking garage after less than an hour?