Parking meter fees will increase from 50 cents per hour to 75 cents per hour beginning July 1.  Richmond City Council approved the increase on May 28.  Results from two parking studies conducted in 2002 and in 2010 indicated the City’s parking meter fee was not commensurate with cities of comparable size.  To bring the fees to industry standards City Council adopted Ordinance #2013-99-99.  The expressed purpose for the installation of parking meters is not to collect fees, but to create turnover parking.  The use of parking meters resulted in the reduction of long-term parkers from occupying on-street parking spaces that are intended to support retail use.   In the 2002 Desman Study, “A Comprehensive Strategic Parking Plan for the City of Richmond,” it was determined 50 cents per hour was not sufficient to achieve the goal of the parking meter, which is to preserve short term on-street parking spaces.  The study suggested an increase to $1 per hour with a two hour minimum

~ Time reduced from four hours to two hours in Central Business District~ Beginning immediately, parking for vehicles with disabled parking placards will be limited to two hours in the Central Business District. The change from the previous four hour time limit was approved by City Council in late May.   A recent survey revealed downtown parking spaces are often occupied for an extended time by vehicles displaying disabled parking placards, limiting access for other placard holders, as well as other motorists needing parking spaces.    Due to an increase in the demand for parking spaces and the limited turnover of parking in the Central Business District, Council adopted Ordinance No. 2013-108-74 to provide for two hours of  parking time.  The Central Business District is defined as Interstate 95 to the North and East, the Downtown Expressway to the South and Belvidere Street to the West; which includes the neighborhoods of Jackson Ward, Monroe Ward, City Center Distric