It’ll cost more to park at a meter in downtown Omaha starting next month.
The new rates take effect October 13. Two-hour and three-hour parking meters will cost $1.25 an hour. Four-hour meters will increase to 75 cents an hour, and some 10-hour meters will become 50 cents an hour.
Mayor Jean Stothert says the city wants more short-term parking spots to be available downtown.
“These changes have been studied since 2011 with one goal in mind, and that is to make public parking easy to find and easy to use.”
Parking meters will be in operation until 9 pm Monday through Saturday. Right now, the meters operate until 5 pm.
The city of Omaha is also working with owners of private garages downtown to make more public parking available.
A new program called Park Omaha Partners also begins October 13th. Business and private parking garage or lot owners can make unused spaces available to the public.
Two garages are already on board starting in October: the Nebraska State Garage at 13th and Harney Streets, and the Landmark Garage at 12th and Farnam Streets.
Ken Smith, parking division manager for the city of Omaha, says the program creates a network of parking spaces and provides more options.
Smith says more than 700 public parking spaces will be available between the two garages. City officials hope the program will encourage people who park at meters long-term to park in a garage instead, freeing up spaces downtown.
More information is available at parkomaha.com.