Coin meters get hungrier

OLYMPIA - It will cost more starting this week to park at more than 2,000 coin-operated parking meters in downtown Olympia.

Beginning Tuesday, it will cost 60 cents an hour to park at three-hour meters, up from 50 cents. And parking at nine-hour meters will cost 50 cents an hour, up from 35 cents. Rates will not change at the 15-minute meters, which cost a penny, nickel or dime. The new pay stations, which began charging in July in the former 90-minute free zone, will remain at $1 an hour.

Parking Services supervisor Deborah Lobe said the increase was authorized in a parking strategy approved by the Olympia City Council last year, and that City Manager Steve Hall has the authority to set the rates.

“We haven’t raised the meter rates in about five years, and our costs keep going up,” she said.

It will take until the end of the week to equip the meters for the rate increase, Lobe said. Because people might not initially be aware of the rate increase, her office will dismiss tickets on a case-by-case basis, she said, adding that the council hasn’t given it the authority to issue warnings.

The rate increase is going into effect now because “the pay stations took a little bit longer to get going than what had been anticipated,” and they needed to be in place first, she said.

The City Council initially turned down a plan to charge for pay stations before approving the parking rates with the added option of 15 minutes of free time.

Matt Batcheldor: 360-753-1688 mbatcheldor@theolympian.com