City eliminates metered spaces in city parking lot

Athens residents have reserved one entire side of the city parking lot on North College Street, replacing 16 metered parking spaces.

The city began selling reserve spots in the lot in December 2001, said Ray Hazlett, Athens assistant city safety service director. Renters pay $85 per month for the spots — the same price as a spot in the lower level of the city parking garage on the corner of College and East Washington streets.

“There seemed to be more of a demand for 24-hour parking,” Hazlett said. “We didn’t want to close up the garage, so we started selling spaces in the lot.”

Before this winter just a few spaces were reserved for city workers, Hazlett said. But the city will continue to remove meters as more people are interested in reserved spots in the lot.

Money from the reserved spaces will go to the city’s general fund and be roughly equivalent to the amount of money brought in by metered spaces, Hazlett said.

If someone kept change in a meter in that lot all day, six days each week, City Auditor Jimmy Stewart said the meter would bring in roughly $4.50 per day — about $100 each month, $15 more than the reserved spaces.

But it is unlikely a meter would have change in it all the time, Stewart said, meaning the revenue probably will be equivalent. Also, city workers will not have to patrol the lot as much, he said.

No one has complained about having fewer metered spots in the lot, Hazlett said. One renter, however, did have a problem when a city worker assumed all the spots were reserved for city employees and parked in the renter’s spot, he said.

Athens leases the lot from the First Presbyterian Church.

— Hillary Copsey