Another coastal Maine community is moving toward requiring paid parking in its downtown area. The Rockland City Council voted unanimously Monday night to set aside funding for parking meters that are expected to be in use from May to October.
Rockland is following the towns of Camden, which fully instituted paid parking last year, and Bar Harbor, which has now been using the approach for five years.
Bar Harbor has brought in growing revenue from its parking meter program, including more than $3 million last year. Camden projected its program, which charges for parking spots at the public landing, would bring in $90,000 during its first full season. At least one other midcoast community, Boothbay Harbor, also charges for downtown parking.
Bar Harbor charges people to park in downtown spaces and public lots between May 1 and Oct. 30 each year. But revenue isn’t the only reason communities start charging for parking: in Camden, part of the impetus was the congestion that resulted from free parking and limited enforcement of two-hour parking limits.
The Rockland council set aside up to $80,000 for seven multi-space parking meters, which City Manager Tom Luttrell said at the meeting should be installed by May. While the city does not yet have a written plan for parking fees, councilors said that they’re purchasing the meters now because it takes so long to get them installed.
Luttrell said that the council should have an ordinance amendment related to the parking program by its next meeting on March 11.
Metered parking has been under discussion in Rockland since before the COVID pandemic. It’s now expected to kick in during this year’s tourism season. While the meters won’t be used in the off season, Luttrell said that some parking is expected to be limited to two hours.
The town of Camden has faced some backlash from business owners who claim that paid parking discourages customers from coming downtown, and workers who argue that a two-hour limit makes it hard to move their cars during shifts.
Only one person at Rockland’s Monday night meeting made public comments about the parking meters, criticizing the lack of communication about the plans. Councilor Adam Lachman said the city is working on improving its communication efforts, with a new staffer and upcoming changes to the website.