GREAT FALLS — After months of discussion surrounding enforcement, turnover, and financial sustainability, the City of Great Falls has approved interim changes to its downtown parking program.
At the February 3rd commission meeting, city commissioners voted to increase on-street parking rates along Central Avenue from $1 to $1.50 per hour. City leaders say the adjustment is intended to stabilize a program that has been operating at a loss.
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Deputy City Manager Jeremy Jones said the downtown parking fund has been projecting monthly losses between $15,000 and $20,000 if no changes were made.
Commissioners have directed staff to ensure the program becomes self-sustaining, meaning it should operate without support from the city’s general fund.
“Parking should pay for parking,” Jones said, explaining that the commission’s guidance includes addressing business concerns about turnover while keeping the system financially stable.
According to Jones, on-street parking generates the largest share of revenue within the system, more than city garages.
However, infrastructure and technology challenges have complicated the issue. The city’s parking system relies on third-party vendors and subscription-based technology, creating recurring costs that are not always visible to the public eye.
Jones said one key takeaway from recent meetings has been the understanding that “free parking” does not truly exist if enforcement, maintenance, or infrastructure costs are involved.
In addition to the hourly rate increase, the city has implemented a new fine structure for violations.
Under the previous system, drivers received a courtesy ticket for their first offense, followed by relatively low fines for subsequent violations. Jones said those penalties were not covering enforcement costs and were not encouraging behavior change.
“As you start to get into that fourth and fifth parking violation within a 12-month rolling period, it hopefully changes the behavior with the fine structure behind it,” Jones said.
Jones emphasized that the recently approved changes are only interim.
“That is an interim phase only,” Jones said. “The long-term, what are we going to do with downtown parking, is still working behind the scenes.”
Following a special work session in December, the city formed a parking summit group made up of downtown business owners, property owners, and residents.
The group meets every other week and is exploring a range of possibilities, including technology upgrades, encouraging greater use of underutilized garages, and other structural changes.
“There is no solving downtown parking. Every community struggles with it,” he said, adding that the goal is to find a management approach that fits Great Falls’ needs.
A proposal is due to the city commission by April 30th. Depending on what is ultimately approved, implementation could take time, especially if new technology or structural changes are involved.
For now, the rate increase and updated fine structure are in place as a short-term effort to stabilize the program while broader discussions continue.
The parking summit group's next meeting is scheduled for February 13th in the Gibson Room at the Civic Center from 8 a.m. to noon, and members of the public are welcome to attend.
