Portland’s Central Eastside to Blaze the Way for Market Rate Permits

Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District (CEID) has a parking problem, and the Central Eastside Industrial Council (CEIC) is pursuing a smart solution.  The CEID doesn’t have any dedicated parking garages and with rapid growth on the horizon the on-street parking situation will only get more congested.  Fortunately, rather than requesting (or demanding) minimum on-site parking requirements in the area, the CEIC plans to raise the price of parking permits to rates rarely seen in the United States.

According to this notice sent to residents and businesses affected, the price of area parking permits in the zones N

and G will double on May 1st, going from $70 a year to $140.  At the same time, the district will begin restricting access to permits by way of attrition.

But the move towards market rate prices won’t stop there.  In May of 2017, permits will be renewed for $210 per year and the in 2018 a permit renewal in these zones will cost a respectable $300 per year.

While still far cheaper than the cost many apartment dwellers would be expected to pay for on-site structured parking, $25 a month is much closer to what we would expect a market rate for on-street parking than the $5 a month charged, currently, for a “hunting license” in Northwest Portland.

Indeed, with the prospects for minimum parking requirements in Northwest Portland looking not-so-good, Rick Michaelson and the Northwest Parking District Stakeholder Advisory Committee would do well to follow the CEID’s lead and set a schedule for increasing permit rates.

This is a major step in the right direction for permit pricing, hopefully the CEIC decision will embolden PBOT staffers and city council to pursue similar rates for the new residential permit programs which may come before council this spring.