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Mass. man’s letter sets off debate about the cost of parking in Portland, Maine
"What we don't need in Portland is more people from Massachusetts," one commenter responded.
A Massachusetts man’s letter to the editor in the Portland Press Herald this week set off a debate among readers about affordable parking.
Portland, which is Maine’s largest city, has long been known as a top food and cultural destination. When Chris Collings of Marion, Mass., visited his favorite chowder house in Portland and was charged $28 for two-hour parking by a third-party parking vendor, his disgust prompted the letter.
High parking fees are “killing” Portland businesses and will “drive tourists away,” wrote Collings, who noted that he’s been visiting the city for years.
Portland charges $2.50 an hour for street parking Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and most spaces have two-hour limits, according to a report in the Portland Press Herald. City-operated garages usually charge $3 to $4 an hour and $10 to $25 a day, noted the report, and city lots managed by Unified Parking Partners “can cost $11, four times the cost of hourly street parking on Commercial Street.”
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“What a sad end to years of great adventures. We won’t be back,” Collings wrote.
Collings’s letter drew nearly 100 comments and was one of the top stories on the paper’s website.
Some commenters wrote that there is affordable parking for those who seek it, and part of Portland’s charm is that it’s walkable.
One commenter offered this advice: “Park in the West End or East End and get a little exercise in. There is plenty of parking on Peninsula where I live, and you are 10 minutes at best, 20 minutes at worst, from a nice walk to your destination. I tell my friends to do this every time they visit. The problem with this country is the insatiable appetite for convenience. Convenience and premiums go hand in hand.”
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“[I] park in Portland several times a week,” another commenter wrote. “[I] never have a problem finding a space and the cost is not prohibitive. What we don’t need in Portland is more people from Massachusetts.”
Others agreed that the cost of parking in Portland has gotten out of control.
“Luke’s lobster even puts up a big sandwich board sign apologizing for the $40 (!) parking on the wharf,” wrote another commenter. “It’s sick. Locals don’t pay it, but you see these poor out-of-state suckers willing to shell out $40 and then $50 if they park one minute over their time. This letter writer is correct. Get that parking company out of downtown!”
“Totally agree, Chris,” wrote Lee Otis. “Not sure the parking lot owners recognized they made a deal with the devil when they leased out their lots to the parking pirates. I avoid downtown Portland whenever possible.”
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