LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Starting Jan. 1, rates at parking garages and on-street meters operated by the Parking Authority of River City will increase, the first change in parking rates since 2018. PARC will also introduce online discounts for drivers who pay for daily parking in advance. 

What You Need To Know

  •  The Kentucky General Assembly passed House Bill 8, mandating a tax on parking services, including surface lots, garages and meters

  •  The estimated impact to PARC's budget is $1 million

  •  For two years, PARC has run a budget deficit of around $4 million, forcing them to dip into a savings fund to cover expenses

  • PARC is offering discounted rates for those who pay for spots online and also offering free parking for Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26

The increase is due to a combination of a new state parking sales tax as well as declining revenues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, the Kentucky General Assembly passed House Bill 8, which requires sales tax to be collected on parking fees. A 6% sales tax will be applied for parking services, including surface lots, garages and meters. The estimated annual budget impact of the new tax for PARC is $1 million. 

“PARC cannot absorb the increased expense incurred by the new sales tax. Our organization is completely self-funded, and 100% of our revenues are reinvested back into our parking structures and services," said PARC Director Mike Tudor. "In order to stay that way over the long term, we must raise our hourly, daily and monthly parking rates."

Tudor said the department had been considering a rate increase for some time, but held off in order to support businesses. He added that the rate increase will allow PARC to cover necessary annual capital expenses and infrastructure improvements, the cost of which have risen in recent years.

“The funding from this increase will help us ensure that our parking garages are safe, clean and well-maintained,” Tudor said.

The annual operating expense to maintain PARC garages is currently around $8.5 million. For the past two years, PARC has been losing an average of $4 million annually related to the pandemic and had to dip in to a savings fund to cover the costs. 

Parking in all PARC garages will remain $1 for the first 30 minutes. 

To help off-set the impacts of these increases, PARC is offering discounted daily parking in its garages online through the website www.parcdaypass.com. PARC will also offer free on-street parking on Small Business Saturday, Nov. 26, to encourage people to partonize local businesses. 

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