Portland, Ore. is facing a significant rise in parking costs, as city officials prepare to enforce the largest year-over-year increase in parking fees in the city’s history beginning July 1.
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, revenues from parking meters have gradually improved, yet Portland’s Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) is grappling with unprecedented financial challenges.
Mayor Keith Wilson has emphasized the need for these price increases, indicating that they are essential for maintaining the city’s infrastructure.
Additionally, he is contemplating the introduction of a fee on utility bills to fund transportation projects, stating, “We have a funding system that is fatally flawed — doing nothing is not a course of action,” as reported by KGW.
Under the new pricing, parking in downtown Portland will now cost $3.60 per hour, which incorporates a planned increase of $0.60 alongside transaction fees that the Portland City Council has added in recent years.
In comparison, the cost for an hour of parking in the city’s core was only $2.20 in the spring of 2022, highlighting how swift and substantial the price hike is.
Local residents, like Lisa Stapp from the Pearl District, have expressed concerns about the increasing rates, noting, “That’s quite a considerable jump in a short amount of time.”
The financial scenario for PBOT is precarious. During an April transportation budget presentation, Councilor Olivia Clark voiced her distress over the department’s financial outlook, describing it as “probably the most depressing presentation I’ve had since I’ve been here.”
She expressed embarrassment over the state of the city’s assets and the limited options available to address the maintenance issues facing Portland.
City leaders, including Mayor Wilson and PBOT, attribute the financial struggles largely to dwindling revenues from state and federal gas taxes.
These revenues have diminished in response to the increasing prevalence of fuel-efficient and electric vehicles, which in turn impact gas tax income.
Funds garnered through the state gas tax are allocated to the State Highway Fund, with 50% distributed to the Oregon Department of Transportation, 30% to counties, and 20% to cities.
At every level, this fund has struggled to keep pace with the rising costs associated with road maintenance projects.
As detailed in Wilson’s proposed budget, he is relying on a transportation package moving through the state legislature this session to help cover PBOT’s $38 million budget deficit.
In addition, the Mayor is turning to parking meters, the department’s second-largest revenue source, to help counteract the financial gap.
His approach includes extending parking meter hours during the evening from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m.
Though Wilson acknowledged the parking cost increases will inconvenience many residents, he asserted the changes are necessary for infrastructure upkeep.
“There’s no choice; it happens to be parking meters, sure, and they’ve gone up, and we’re very sorry about that,” he said.
However, questions linger about whether the raised parking rates will succeed in reversing the declining parking behavior in Portland.
In 2023, former Mayor Ted Wheeler opted to pause parking fee increases, citing concerns that higher rates might deter visitors.
Lisa Stapp pointed out that many people, including herself, may reconsider driving downtown due to the higher parking costs.
PBOT anticipates that it will generate approximately $30.5 million from parking meters this fiscal year, a considerable rise from a low point of $16.8 million in FY20-21 amid the pandemic.
Despite this revenue growth, the city still hasn’t returned to the $35.2 million it generated in parking meter revenue back in 2018, when parking rates were less than half of the new prices.
This drop-off in revenue reflects a significant shift in parking demand and behavior—a trend Wilson believes will eventually reverse.
“We’re certain that number will start coming back; we’re seeing the trends,” he stated confidently.
Despite PBOT asserting that the capacity of metered parking has not significantly changed since 2018, uncertainties remain regarding how parking revenues may have been impacted by other local changes, such as the conversion of metered spots for outdoor dining and loading zones.
A PBOT spokesperson highlighted that the current city data shows there are 15,334 standard metered parking spots in 2025, but they lack a historical record for tracking changes in storage capacity over time.
This lack of data leaves any variation in parking meter revenue due to capacity changes unverified and somewhat ambiguous.
Even with parking fees climbing, not all city residents are willing to pay the increased rates.
Kyle Davey, who owns a vending machine business, often opts for free parking rather than using the Parking Kitty app, especially for brief stops.
“For very short business trips of about 10 or 15 minutes, I typically skip the app,” he explained.
Davey mentioned that managing parking fines is often a better business decision for him compared to paying for metered parking.
“I’m sure I would be up in the hundreds if not thousands of dollars of parking fees if I had paid every single time that I parked,” he shared.
He noted that many drivers adopt a similar mindset, suggesting that the presence of parking citations on vehicles near him indicates that many people are taking calculated risks.
In fact, Davey observed that about half of the cars parked on his street bore tickets on their windshields, revealing a common trend of drivers opting to gamble on parking tickets instead of paying meters.
Though fines contribute to the public service pool, the City of Portland does not profit from parking tickets as revenue has remained stagnant at about $3.5 million over the past four years.
In contrast, PBOT incurs an approximate cost of $8 million annually for parking enforcement, which includes staffing expenses for ticketing and the removal of abandoned vehicles and derelict RVs.
Consequently, Wilson is prioritizing parking meter fees and the extension of meter operating hours.
He expressed absolute confidence in his projections, expecting to generate an additional $6.8 million from the adjustments.
“We know we’ll get back to those pre-pandemic levels of people parking in the city’s core,” Wilson asserted.
He also encouraged Portlanders to consider using public transit as a means to save on parking meter expenses.
PBOT’s latest financial projections indicate a revenue increase of $11.6 million from parking meters due to the proposed fee raises, which is $5 million higher than Wilson’s original budget estimates.
Currently, PBOT anticipates a total revenue of $42.1 million from parking meters in FY 25-26.
However, when questioned about the inconsistencies in his and PBOT’s revenue projections, Wilson was unaware of the differing figures.
Moreover, the discrepancies raised additional questions regarding the budgetary decisions and fiscal management within PBOT.
In light of these financial issues, Mayor Wilson and PBOT Director Millicent Williams are also mulling over the introduction of a new utility fee to support transportation maintenance.
“We’re looking at everything,” Wilson confirmed.
The proposed transportation utility fee is typically a flat rate that could be added to monthly utility bills to finance road repairs and other transportation-related initiatives, enabling implementation without voter approval.
Other cities in Oregon, such as Hillsboro, require residents to pay approximately $10 a month in addition to their utility charges for similar purposes.
Adding to the fiscal strain, Portland is already set to raise city water and sewer bills by 6.3% starting in July.
The potential for a new transportation utility fee has raised concerns among residents like Lisa Stapp, who regarding rising costs remarked, “Hit with that and then also hit with the higher parking fees, you know, it’s like it’s a huge ding.”
Holding her dog, Pepper, Stapp mentioned she may reconsider her decision to drive into the city.
image source from：https://www.kgw.com/article/news/investigations/portland-parking-fee-transportation-funding-increase-hours-meter/283-eccc36dd-9249-4bc1-bdc7-d8ab01f8fefd
