The City of Williamsburg has a gift in store for residents and visitors this holiday season.
City Council directed staff Monday to change rates at the Prince George Parking Garage to allow two hours of free parking between mid-November and the end of this year.
The garage currently allows 30 minutes of free parking. Parking more than 30 minutes is $1 per hour and $12 maximum per day.
The idea for a holiday promotion was previously brought up by Councilman Ted Maslin, who suggested altering the rates for 45 days during the holidays to increase downtown visitation.
During a City Council work session Monday, Maslin said he believes the rate change would increase the amount of time people stay to shop or eat in Merchants Square and the number of people who use the garage.
Maslin also said he hopes it will boost businesses for local shops during the holidays and provide a parking alternative if Colonial Williamsburg turns the P3 lot into a green space.
Finance director Barbara Dameron estimated the city could lose about $30,000 in revenue by allowing drivers to park two hours free between Nov. 15 and the end of December.
Dameron said the parking garage revenue in that 45-day period averages about $62,000 to $63,000. Revenue would be cut nearly in half because many cars cycle in and out of the garage in less than 2 hours.
Testing usage
Multiple council members said they hope this holiday season will demonstrate whether changing the Prince George Parking Garage rates can increase visitation and garage usage.
Parking fees have been waived on special occasions in the past, including for Christmas 2015, city spokeswoman Lee Ann Hartmann said.
Rates also have changed temporarily for other special city events, including the Fourth of July and the Grand Illumination, increasing to a flat $5 fee to keep traffic flowing, Hartmann said.
Hartmann added that the Williamsburg Police Department, who enforces parking in Williamsburg, said the garage’s hourly rate has not changed since it was built in 2004.
In early 2015, the maximum daily fee increased from $8 to $12 per day.
Councilman Benming Zhang said he would like to see a measurable data set showing how successful the holiday rate change was.
Councilwoman Barbara Ramsey suggested other factors may impact how many people use the Prince George Parking Garage, such as lack of signage, the cost of garage fees, convenience to stores and safety.
“We need to look at reasons why people don’t park in the garage to begin with,” Ramsey said.
Validation and revenue loss
During Monday’s work session, some City Council members expressed concern about losing revenue from parking garage fees.
Councilman Doug Pons suggested incentivizing Merchants Square businesses to purchase validation cards at discounted prices so they can provide a certain amount of parking credit time to their customers.
City Manager Andrew Trivette said there is already a validation, or parking credit, system in place for local businesses, although not all businesses participate.
Mayor Paul Freiling said the city doesn’t make much money by charging for parking in the garage, but the revenue the city does make is applied to debt service from the garage.
“The money has to come from somewhere,” Pons said.
