Summer Parking Downtown: Saratoga Springs Updates New Proposed “Seasonal Parking” Program

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Spa City is looking to implement a seasonal parking program that will affect more than 2,000 existing parking spaces in the downtown area located east and west of Broadway.

Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub and DPW Business Manager Mike Veitch provided an update on Feb. 15 of the city’s parking plan anticipated to go into effect May 1. 

Specifically, the program – the name has been changed from “Tourism Parking” to “Seasonal Parking” – is looking to convert more than 1,300 on-street parking spaces into strictly Permit Parking, and 2-hour-free-and-Permit Parking spots. Broadway itself will remain as is. 

An additional near-800 combined spots in the Walton, Putnam and Woodlawn city parking garages would be converted into 170 Permit parking spaces with the balance of spaces set as paid spots. The plan includes pay stations and mobile pay options, but no traditional parking meters.

Free permit parking will be reserved for city residents, business owners and their employees. Downtown businesses will be able to register their employees for the free permits regardless of where those business owners and their employees live. 

Free permits will also be made available to city residents, who will be able to register for permits with proof of residency; the passes will be available to all residents and not just taxpayers. Guest passes will also be made available for those visiting residents.   

“Paid parking is a way many small cities and towns have taken to generate revenue to maintain their garages and to support the needs of the city,” Department of Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub explained during the Feb. 15 presentation at Saratoga Music Hall. The gathering was attended by more than 50 people, most of whom are downtown business owners. The 25-minute presentation was followed by a 30-minute Q&A session. 

“While I understand the need for the city to bring in a different revenue stream to help with garage maintenance, I do have serious reservations about the implementation,” said downtown business owner Heidi Owen West, adding that the length of the seasonal parking program may have a negative effect on local customers coming in from outside the city limits, as well as the potential lack of parking spot turnover that the resident parking permits may cause. 

“Turnover is critical for businesses,” West said. “Businesses need this turnover, and my concern is that the inventory for visitor parking is too limited.”

“There will still be a significant amount of parking on the streets. Broadway will remain the same, and most of streets coming off Broadway will have the two-hour (free) option,” Golub said.  

The city anticipates a projected first-season gross revenue of just over $2 million that would be offset by about $750,000 in costs, leaving a net income of just over $1.2 million. Some of the initial costs would be first-year implementation expenses, so the city’s net income could conceivably be higher in future years. 

The city began researching the potential of a paid parking tourism or seasonal program about a year ago by studying existing programs in comparable cities with tourist-based economies. 

Over the next 5 years, the city will need to spend more than $600,000 in capital improvements on its parking structures, Veitch explained.  “This money would go toward that.” 

“The reality is the garages today for our residents and our visitors are atrocious. And we don’t have the money to fix them,” Golub said.  “We will be doing capital improvements over the course of the (next few) years based on revenue we are able to generate – and hopefully also address the homeless issue with some of these revenues as well, so they aren’t using the garages as shelters.” 

There will be at least one public hearing – date to-be-determined – before the City Council votes on the matter. The council will also be required to vote separately on the dollar amount of the paid parking fees. 

The plan is tentatively slated to go into effect from May 1 to Sept. 30. Commissioner Golub stressed that the plan is fluid and community input is encouraged in advance of implementation.  The program will be evaluated after the first season and any adjustments deemed necessary will be made after the first year. 

“This is an ongoing conversation. We want your input, and we want to get this right before we roll it out,” Golub said.