A friendly word of advice to the thousands of suburbanites planning to visit Atlanta this weekend for the kick-off to the city’s festival season: feed the meter.
The Atlanta Dogwood Festival, the SweetWater 420 Fest in Candler Park and Saturday night’s Ultimate Fighting Championship at Philips Arena promise to bring drivers face-to-face with Atlanta’s tough on-street parking regime.
Parking downtown could soon get even tougher. The city is considering extending enforcement hours at meters around the city -- past midnight and deep into the night in some cases.
Atlanta’s parking enforcement started rankling residents almost immediately after it was outsourced in 2009. The controversy has quieted somewhat but has not disappeared.
“I definitely heard it from more than one person via Facebook or Twitter or whatever that they wouldn’t come back to the Highlands because they were worried about getting a ticket,” said Justin Haynie, owner of a North Highland Avenue bar called Diesel Filling Station.
Milwaukee-based Duncan Solutions, which does business as ParkAtlanta, installed hundreds of meters in 2010, within months of winning the contract. After residents complained about the aggressive new approach, the City Council restricted ParkAtlanta’s operations with a moratorium on new meters and reduced hours.
That boomeranged on the city when an arbitrator ruled late last year that, because of those restrictions, the company would only be required to pay the city $1.5 million per year -- a 73 percent reduction from the $5.5 million originally agreed to. The $4 million difference is enough to pay for 50 police officers, said Duriya Farooqui, the city’s chief operating officer.
The changes, scheduled to come before the City Council’s transportation committee in early May, are an attempt at compromise, Farooqui said. The city wanted to keep relatively light enforcement in areas with high numbers of residents, but still get its $5.5 million payout every year. That could require giving ParkAtlanta additional sources of cash.
The primary changes proposed:
- An extra 2 hours of meter enforcement, from 10 p.m. to midnight,in entertainment zones. (Parking spots around the city are categorized by use, such as entertainment, business/government, schools, etc.)
- A $2 flat-rate fee for overnight parking from Monday to Saturday, except in areas zoned for mixed use.
- An additional $25 late fee after 45 days if a driver does not pay the original fine.
The basic $2 an hour fee charged at many meters during daytime hours would not change. Other options are still being considered, city officials say.
“The intention was to minimize the impact on residents and businesses,” Farooqui said. “There is a significant amount of enforcement. We know that. For that enforcement, taxpayers should get a revenue stream.”
Breaking the contract entirely with ParkAtlanta could cost the city $8 million or more, Farooqui said. She said ParkAtlanta has agreed to go back to the original $5.5 million payout if the city makes the changes.
“Nobody likes more enforcement. I understand that and empathize with that,” she said. “The negotiation was difficult, it was hard.”
The company declined to comment for this story.
City Councilman Michael Julian Bond opposes the changes. Atlantans made it clear in community meetings that they did not want overnight parking enforcement, he said.
“I’m hoping for new and better ideas. What’s on the table is bad.”
The parking debate is roiling as Atlanta girds for one of the biggest festival weekends of the year. Organizers of the Dogwood Festival in Piedmont Park say the arts, music and food festival could attract about 200,000 people based on last year’s turnout. The SweetWater 420 Fest could bring 40,000 people to Candler Park over three days if last year’s numbers hold up.
Brian Hill, executive director of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, acknowledged “limited parking” on streets around Piedmont Park.
“But you can always take MARTA, and there is free shuttle service from the Arts Center and Midtown stations,” he said.
Even veterans of Atlanta driving are caught off guard by Atlanta’s parking requirements. Tara Murphy, who runs a public relations firm two blocks southeast of Centennial Olympic Park, joined their ranks recently.
On Thursday, Murphy she hit “max payment” to get four hours at a metered spot on Walton Street, she said. She was slapped with a ticket in less than four hours because of a discrepancy between the meter and the sign, she said.
“There is not one uniform system across the board that is being used and it creates confusion and harsh feelings,” Murphy said. “It also impacts the city in general. When people feel like if they go to a certain area they are going to be ticketed, they just won’t go.”
Susan Roe, president of the Atlanta Downtown Neighborhood Association, said some of her neighbors want the city to stop enforcing parking regulations at 7 p.m. to encourage people to come downtown. She disagrees.
“People are finally getting used to the fact that we’re a city and people have to pay to park in cities,” she said. “When you look at us versus New York, we have quite the deal. Sundays are free.”
About the Author
