The price of parking, both legally and illegally, increases on Monday in Iowa City. The familiar $1 per hour fee at the parking ramps set will double, except at the Chauncey Swan and Harrison Street ramps, where the price will be $2.25 per hour. The first hour of parking at the ramps will still be free.
The cost of parking in metered spots downtown is also doubling, going from $1.50 to $3 per hour. Parking at meters elsewhere will now cost $1.50 per hour, up from either 75 cents or $1 per hour, depending on where the metered spot is.
Fines for failing to feed the meter and other common parking violations also go up on Monday.
Expired meter:
- First offense: warning
- Second: $10, up from $7
- Third: $15, up from $12
- Fourth: $20, up from $15
- Fifth: $30, up from $20
- Sixth or more: $40, up from $25
Parking in commercial loading zone:
- First offense: $25, stays the same
- Each additional offense per year: $40
Unauthorized parking in accessible parking spaces:
- $200, matching state law
The Iowa City Council approved the fee increases in May. It’s the first time in 11 years the cost of public parking in Iowa City has gone up. City code requires parking operations to be self-funding.
“The proposed fee increases are expected to generate enough revenue to support the increased costs in operations, funding for the capital improvement program and helps to ensure the Parking fund remains a self-funding enterprise,” according to a staff report prepared for the council when the increases were proposed. “The expected increase in revenues is approximately $3,000,000 a year.”
According to the report, some of that increase will be used to fund “enhanced cleaning for our ramps and downtown” and “help subsidize fare free [bus service].”
