What you need to know
Paid parking is enforced in the city of Houston between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., which leaves residents and visitors of the city with 13 hours of free parking, including all-day free parking on Sundays and holidays.
However, a proposal on the council agenda is looking to amend the code of ordinance on meter regulations to extend paid hours from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Saturday. If passed, the new ordinance would cut the number of free parking hours by more than half, leaving Houstonians with free parking between the hours of 2 a.m. and 7 a.m. only.
How we got here
Council members Edward Pollard, Fred Flickinger and Tiffany Thomas signed off on the ordinance as a way to generate more revenue for the city's general fund.
Finance Director Melissa Dubowski announced March 6 the city is looking at a potential $160 million-$200 million budget shortfall in fiscal year 2024-25. Council members, along with city officials, have been looking for ways to close that gap.
By the numbers
According to an annual report by Parking Management in FY 2014-15, meter operations brought in approximately $7 million in total revenue.
- Average revenue per space was $809.
- In FY 2015, over 2.6 million customers used metered parking.
Pollard said by extending hours, he expects the city could bring in potentially $10 million-$20 million in additional revenue.
The cost of street parking in Houston varies from $0.50 to $2 per an hour, according to Park Mobile. The new proposal does not include a rate increase.
What's next?
The ordinance, which was originally slated to receive a vote April 3, was moved to the following week's agenda. Pollard tagged the item to allow council more time for discussion.
A vote is expected to take place April 10.
