Starting next month, it will cost over 50% more to park on the streets of Downtown Salt Lake City.
As part of its citywide budget, which members of the Salt Lake City Council finalized Tuesday night, the council approved a measure to increase paid parking per hour, as rates will increase from $2.25 per hour to $3.50. It’s the first parking rate increase since 2019, according to a city information sheet provided to Building Salt Lake.
The hours for paid parking are also expanding, as drivers will be required to pay for parking until 10 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. The approved measure also eliminated free parking on Saturdays, while parking will continue to be free on Sundays and holidays.
Parking changes will go into effect on July 1.
In the information sheet, city staff wrote that the changes were taking place because, “paid parking encourages shorter stays, so spots open more frequently.” Funds from the parking meters will also go toward street and sidewalk repairs, as well as bike lanes and other city maintenance projects.
What didn’t change, however, is where you must pay to park — at least for now.
The city measure didn’t include details of expanding paid parking, though the council could add paid parking areas in the future. City Council members discussed expanding paid parking areas back in March, and even signaled their interest in making changes via straw polls. But the measure approved this week didn’t include those potential changes.
“They aren’t actively considering any changes, the (March) briefing was an initial discussion intended to get the Council’s direction on potential changes,” said council spokesperson Whitney González Fernández in a text message.
She added that the city’s Department of Community and Neighborhoods “plans to return to the Council with updated recommendations later this summer.”
Council members strongly supported the idea of rolling out more paid parking around the city during the March briefing, so it’s possible that expansion is still on the table in the near future. In March, a staff memo said paid parking could be expanded to include “West Downtown, Station Center, Granary District, Central Ninth, and parts of Central City.”
The council also expressed their interest in changing how the city handles parking for events around town, like events at the Utah State Fairpark and at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Council members voted unanimously in a March straw poll to create an event management parking program, which would start in the Fairpark area before potentially being implemented citywide.
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