Paid parking begins in downtown Wichita next week. Here’s what to know
Parking meters will begin to be installed along Douglas, Emporia and St. Francis streets in downtown Wichita next week.
The installation marks the beginning of paid parking downtown.
“Equipment will be installed as it is received,” the city said in a statement. The city wasn’t able to provide a timeline on when more meters would be installed and where downtown.
The meters will allow for free parking for up to 15 minutes. After that, visitors would pay a dollar an hour or a daily rate of $5 in a parking lot or $10 in a garage. Monthly rates would be offered at $35 a month in parking lots and $70 in garages. Payments can be made via phone or mobile app, and most meters will take card or coin payment.
The city’s private contractor, The Car Park, would enforce parking regulations Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Sundays would be free.
Handicap-accessible and disabled veteran parking is free on streets but is paid on surface lots and in parking garages.
These rules would be enforced downtown and exclude Delano and Old Town. The city defines downtown as generally between Washington and the Arkansas River on the east and west, and Kellogg and Second Street to the north and south.
The city said while enforcement begins July 1 downtown, it’ll focus initially on educating visitors on the new rules as meters are installed.
People who “continue to violate the parking ordinances, will be ticketed,” the city said in a statement.
Most parking violation fines in the city range from $25 to $50. The city is also encouraging residents to continue to pay for parking in areas of downtown that may still have older meters installed.
When the council approved the city’s paid parking plan, a report said paid parking could be expanded to Delano after construction is completed on the new multimodal center near Riverfront Stadium, which includes a parking garage with 400 spaces.
A Community Improvement District tax, typically a 2% sales tax, could be added in the Old Town area to pay for parking infrastructure and enforcement in the area.
The installation was stalled by many setbacks and amendments that needed to be made to the city’s parking agreement with The Car Park.
A city report says implementing paid parking downtown could generate $2.2 million in revenue, but much of that, about $1.6 million, will go to the Car Park for enforcement and reimbursing costs of installing the new meters.
The rest of the revenue will go towards addressing deferred maintenance issues that the city has identified in its parking structures and lots.