Bellingham raises parking rates, changes hours and adds paid parking in new areas

Robert Mittendorf
·3 min read

Bellingham is raising the price of parking downtown, adding paid parking in Fairhaven and doubling the cost of a parking ticket.

Hours of paid parking are changing too — and free Saturday parking will vanish, after the City Council voted 6-0 with Councilman Dan Hammill abstaining, to approve new parking measures Monday night, Jan. 24.

Paid parking will start in the Fairhaven shopping district on May 1, along with other changes the council approved Monday.

City officials also are getting ready to start a pricing model that would charge drivers more per hour the longer they stay in the same parking spot.

That upcoming ”progressive-pricing” model, along with higher parking rates, is aimed at forcing turnover in the downtown core and Fairhaven, said Councilman Michael Lilliquist, chairman of the Public Works and Natural Resources Committee.

“It allows you to have a low initial rate for short-term visits, but also a very high rate to act as a way of discouraging people from monopolizing parking and therefore encourage them to use parking garages and other means,” Lilliquist said.

Councilwoman Hollie Huthman said that parking is more difficult downtown as customers are emerging from pandemic isolation and merchants are seeing increased business.

“Right now, it’s really difficult in a lot of parts of downtown to find a parking spot and that dissuades people from coming downtown,” she said at the meeting.

“If they want to frequent a business, if they can’t find a spot, they might not try,” she said.

“Higher parking rates might help free up spots” by pushing downtown employees into using parking garages and public transit rather than parking all day near their workplace.

Years of discussions with merchants and local residents went into the effort to add paid parking in Fairhaven, Lilliquist said.

The hourly parking fee will increase to $1 an hour in downtown Bellingham and be added in Fairhaven on May 1, the City Council decided Monday, Jan. 24.
The hourly parking fee will increase to $1 an hour in downtown Bellingham and be added in Fairhaven on May 1, the City Council decided Monday, Jan. 24.

New parking rates, hours and fees include:

▪ An hourly parking fee increase to $1 an hour from 75 cents an hour.

▪ Doubling the price of a meter violation to $30 from the current $15. A late fee of $25 will be added if the fine isn’t paid in 30 days.

▪ Changing the hours of paid parking to 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday. It’s now 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

▪ Add paid parking in Fairhaven.

▪ Offer a reduced parking permit rate for low-income housing residents.

▪ The Commerical Street parking garage will be free after 5 p.m. weekdays.

▪ All parking garages and all city lots will be free from 6 p.m. Friday to 11 a.m. Monday.

▪ Parking be free on Sundays and city holidays. It’s now free Saturdays, Sundays and city holidays.

Fees have not changed since 2008, and the city has been considering new fees and hours for several years.

Parking fees aren’t aimed at creating a funding source, but rather at ensuring there’s adequate parking by creating turnover, according to previous Bellingham Herald reporting.

Revenue from paid parking funds downtown improvements, including winter holiday decorations, flowers in summer and weeding of garden beds.

Funds have been lagging, Lilliquist said.

“It’s not a matter of making money,” he said at the meeting. “And right now the Parking Fund is not solvent, having taken a heavy hit over the past two years.”

Kiosks and meters for the PayByPhone mobile app used elsewhere in the city will be installed in Fairhaven, the city said.