News

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Fee-based parking at the District Office lot

As part of the fiscal solvency plan, on September 8, 2009, the board of education approved a six-month pilot program to charge the public for parking at the District Office lot for recurring events like the Saturday Farmer’s Market, as well as seasonal events in the downtown area.

Signature Parking, a local firm that specializes in valet service and also provides parking services for large venues like the Santa Barbara Bowl, was selected to handle the logistics. The trial period began on September 19, with the district charging $5 per vehicle. Predictably, the public has been slow to accept paying to park in a lot they once used for free.

“Both Signature Parking and the District expected that there would be a period of adjustment for the public,” said Purchasing Coordinator Brian Tanguay. “We also anticipated that we might need to adjust the per vehicle fee in order to be competitive. Five dollars per vehicle seems too high, so we plan to reduce the fee to $3 per vehicle and see if volume increases. This is definitely a work in progress, though we think it can work and in time become a steady source of revenue for the general fund.”

The fee-based trial will run through February 2010.