Paid Parking in Spa City: Here To Stay, or Gone Tomorrow?  

SARATOGA SPRINGS —More than two dozen downtown business owners convened at City Hall last week to meet with city Mayor John Safford. The group of entrepreneurs largely expressed displeasure with the inaugural paid parking system the city implemented during the summer season, and pointed to the paid parking plan as a cause for lost sales revenue while requesting its planned return for summer 2025 be terminated. 

How successful their plea was, has yet to be determined, however.    

“We are asking that the paid parking program in Saratoga Springs be halted,” said John Nemjo, owner of Saratoga Outdoors and Life is Good Saratoga, on Broadway. 

“My intention right now is to try it for another year,” said Mayor Safford, whose response was largely met with groans of disapproval from those in attendance. 

In early 2024, the City Council unanimously approved a paid parking project slated to run from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The plan would charge motorists coming to the city from outside Saratoga Springs $2 per hour to park at six city-owned parking garages and surface lots, while local residents would be provided free parking passes.

The anticipated seasonal revenue for 2024 was approximately $1.6 million, with expenses estimated at about $450,000, resulting in an estimated first year net gain of over $1.1 million. Of that, the city says it would re-invest $100,000 of the revenue gained in the Downtown Business Association. 

In real-time application, the program didn’t go into effect until mid-June and generated just over $275,000. The project cost about $144,000 to implement the first year – nearly $124,000 of which was for the one-time purchase of equipment, according to city DPW manager Michael Veitch, who also noted any potential income coming from parking ticket fees was not included in the figures. 

The near $131,000 net revenue produced for the city was far below its $1.1 million net projections. As such, it appears the $100,000 earmarked for DBA won’t be coming. 

“We were told we weren’t going to get it,” said Heidi West, owner of Lifestyles Saratoga, Caroline + Main, and Union Hall Supply Co.  

“Promises were broken, (and) the revenue forecast – totally unrealistic.” Nemjo added. 

The merchants say paid parking is a deterrent to their nearby, non-city resident customer base coming into town, and that having a ticking time limit imposed upon visitors who do park keep from walking around town and taking full advantage of the multitude of the city’s offerings.     

“The thing is the city needs revenue,” Mayor Safford told the group, explaining he is opposed to raising taxes, but that Saratoga Springs faces a problem where income is not meeting expenses. “The city is in that situation. You guys are the creative ones,” the mayor said, tossing the baton of inspiring revenue generating ideas to business owners. “Maybe we need some feedback: if not paid parking, how can we solve this problem?”   

“Why would you need to balance your budget on the backs of the small business owner?” responded one business operator in attendance. “We need to be competitive with all the other communities that exist around here, and if people have to pay to park here, we’re not competitive anymore.”   

“The city’s financial gain should not be at our expense. You’re hurting us and it will hurt the city in the long run if this keeps up,” Nemjo said.   “I think people would come back in great numbers if you did suspend it for next year. What we are asking is that the paid parking program in Saratoga Springs be halted.”  

“I’d like them to pause it for at least a year. Right from the start, we had ideas about what the program would look like, told them all the problems that might occur and – here we are. It’s all happened,” West added. “My hope is that they will listen to us as the small business community listened to the people who live here and really hear what’s being said: people really don’t want this.” 

The mayor and the downtown business owners agreed to have more dialogue in the future and exchange ideas about where to go next. The plan is set to go into effect Memorial Day 2025. Veitch estimated revenue for a full-seasonal program in 2025 at $465,000. Just over 13,700 parking permits were issued to residents, and downtown business employees. Library patrons are also included in the permit-issued tally.  

Timeline: How We Got Here

December 2023 – City Council presentation. Proposal of a seasonal tourism parking program would charge visitors for parking at three city-owned parking garages, two surface lots and implement time-limited parking on some downtown streets beginning May 1, 2024 and extend through Sept. 30. On-street permits would provide free parking for residents and downtown business employees. The program is estimated to return nearly $2.5 million in revenue to the city. 

February 2024 – City Officials provide an update. The plan, changed in name from “Tourism Parking” to “Seasonal Parking,” looks to implement a program to affect more than 2,000 existing parking spaces (1,300 on-street and 800 in garages and lots) in the downtown area located east and west of Broadway, with Broadway remaining unchanged. Anticipated first-season gross revenue: just over $2 million, offset by about $750,000 in costs, leaving a net income of just over $1.2 million. Some of those initial costs would be first-year implementation expenses, so the city’s net income could conceivably be higher in future years. 

March 2024 – Following a presentation to more than 50 downtown business owners, the city announces it has made “streamlined adjustments in response to great stakeholder feedback.” The new proposal suggests seasonal paid parking in garages and atop surface lots only, with plans for on-street paid parking altogether eliminated. The plan is also looking at a shorter timeframe compared to the initial May 1-Sept. 30 proposal. Implementation is now proposed for Memorial Day to Labor Day.

April 2024 – A 65-minute Public Hearing is held regarding the proposal at City Hall. Plan includes both free permit (for downtown businesses owners and city residents) and paid parking (for those outside the city limits) in six city-owned garages and surface lots only. Visitors can pay $2 an hour to park in the garages and surface lots. 

Anticipated seasonal revenue for 2024 expected to be approximately $1.6 million, with expenses estimated at about $450,000, resulting in an estimated first year net gain of over $1.1 million.

Of that, the city says it will invest $100,000 of revenue gained in the DBA (“a dedicated marketing professional for the Downtown Business Association”), $50,000 into Parking Structure Capital Reserve, $75,000 into a Downtown Improvement Reserve, and $40,000 into a Recreation Parking program. 

The City Council votes 5-0 to unanimously approve the plan. An online portal where residents and downtown business owners may apply for permits is anticipated to roll out by the end of April. 

“We have a three-month period here to see how it works and I think it’s worth doing,” said Mayor John Safford, adding that some of the revenue generated will be earmarked to help resolve homeless issues, although how much of, or where those funds would be applied was not specified. 

May 2024 – The city public library announces its parking lot with approximately 75 spaces will go to a paid parking scheme during the summer, with provisions made to allow city library cardholders to continue to park free of charge during the library’s normal hours of operation. The Saratoga Springs City Council unanimously approved a pair of measures during its May 7 meeting, allowing the proposal to come to fruition, and estimates the library lot is anticipated to return approximately $52,000 in revenues. 

The city also announces its previously anticipated Memorial Day garage and surface lot pay plan has been pushed to a post-June 9 start, following the conclusion of the Belmont Stakes.  The pay station plan eventually gets underway in mid-June.