PORTLAND — Portland Transportation Bureau is asking to raise hourly rates for on-street downtown parking by 25 percent.
The Oregonian reports (http://is.gd/I8RkMa ) that the City Council will vote in two weeks on the proposal to raise meter rates from $1.60 to $2 an hour effective Jan. 29.
Officials say the higher rate for the spaces will free street parking, which has become hard to find downtown. They say because so many spaces are filled, drivers end up circling, which increases congestion and puts pedestrians at risk.
The increase is expected to generate at least $4 million in annual revenue, which will go into the bureau’s general transportation revenue account.
