Coming to downtown Raleigh? Here’s where you’ll be able to park for free for 2 hours.
If you’re heading to downtown Raleigh this holiday season to shop, skate or attend the annual tree lighting, you will be able to park for free in certain city-owned decks.
The Raleigh City Council voted Tuesday to try out a two-hour, free parking program to help businesses and attract more visitors.
Drivers will be able to park for free for two hours between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday in five decks downtown. After the two-hour mark, the rate will be $2 per hour and $14 for 24 hours, which is the current rate. Parking in the decks will remain free after 7 p.m. weekdays and on weekends.
The designated parking decks are
- Blount Street Deck, 314 Blount St.
- City Center Deck, 429 S. Wilmington St.
- Moore Square Deck, 233 S. Wilmington St.
- Municipal Complex Deck, 201 W. Morgan St.
- Wilmington Street Station Deck, 117 S. Wilmington St.
The free parking program will begin in mid-November and run until January when the City Council will discuss the results during a retreat.
Currently, parking in the decks is free for the first 15 minutes, $1 for the first two hours and $2 an hour after that.
The new program will be limited to one car visit per day and will not apply during special events downtown.
Making up for lost revenue
The city estimates the free parking program will have an annual impact of $170,444 based on data from January to June of this year.
To make up for the lost revenue, the city could consider raising parking fees, extending paid hours to 9 p.m., or reviving an older program that made parking in decks $5 at 5 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
The “$5 at 5” program began in January 2016 but ended in 2019 because tthe program, which required parking workers to collect the money, cost more than it brought in.
At a meeting Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Pro-Tem Jonathan Melton proposed starting the program in November before the holidays instead of the new year so that local businesses could benefit. Downtown Raleigh gets transformed for the holidays with the annual tree lighting, an ice skating rink, and other attractions bringing people to the area.
Melton said he and council member Stormie Forte have been meeting with small business owners on Wilmington Street who say free parking could help them. However, he is concerned about the revenue considerationss.
“I understand the city has a budget and we have to be mindful of budgetary impacts,” he said. “I think we need a little more time to consider these revenue-mitigation considerations. I would also like to ask the Downtown Raleigh Alliance to talk to business owners.”
Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said the feedback downtown business owners gave her on $5 at 5 plan was “absolute no.”
Council member Megan Patton of District B covering northeast Raleigh said her constituents have said parking issueshave kept them from coming downtown.
The next steps for the city include having signs made and providing other information to let drivers know about the free parking program before the mid-November start date, which could take a few weeks.
This story was originally published October 15, 2024 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Coming to downtown Raleigh? Here’s where you’ll be able to park for free for 2 hours.."