Free parking at Iowa City’s parking ramps is coming to end. On Monday, regular hourly fees will be back in force at parking ramps, and people will have to start feeding the parking meters downtown again.
“Normal rates for parking decks will return at 7 a.m. Monday,” the Iowa City Department of Transportation said in a press release. “Any vehicles that have been parked overnight in parking decks should be removed immediately to avoid accruing parking fees.”
Although parking enforcement at metered spots will resume on Monday, the department said the city “will maintain the on-street parking spaces designated for picking up to-go orders or items from various restaurants or businesses through the summer.”
The city suspended fees at the parking ramps and stopped enforcing metered parking spaces on March 23, as part of its response to COVID-19.
To limit person-to-person contact during the pandemic, the Transportation Department is encouraging people who park in the ramps to pay with credit or debit cards at the automated payment kiosks. To limit contact with public surfaces when parking in metered spaces, the department suggests people download the PassportParking app, so they can feed the meter via smartphone. The app can also be used to pay parking fees in the Chauncey Swan and Harrison Street parking ramps.
