On-street parking meter rates are increasing from 75 cents an hour to one dollar an hour. At the same time, City garage parking rates are going down - from $7.50 to $2 for parking up to three hours. 

Either way, parking in downtown Tacoma remains less expensive than comparable communities. Plus, all the rates you pay can only go back into the parking system - for things like maintenance and enhancements.

City	Current Parking Rate
Seattle	$1-$4 per hour
Olympia	$1 per hour
Portland	$1-$1.60

 
Parking fees help the parking system to pay off its City-underwritten debt, address deferred maintenance, and improve the parking experience with new parking technology, lighting and other parking enhancements. This is important because the parking experience is often both the first and last impression that people have of Tacoma’s downtown.

The change was a recommendation of the Parking Technical Advisory Group, made up of local merchants and community members. For them, this is also an effort to align rates so that on-street parking spaces are available to short-term customers while those saying longer use the more economical off-street options. Why? Because it's better for local business. And when businesses thrive, the downtown thrives.   

Comments? Contact Eric Huseby at (253) 591-5437 or ehuseby@cityoftacoma.org