The Harrisburg Parking Authority: Ripping You Off More Than Ever
I am one of the intrepid people that parks on City Island. In the summer, the twice-daily walk across the Walnut Street Bridge is quite pleasant. It's a peaceful way to start and end the day. During the winter, the walk is hellish. Stumbling across the Susquehanna with the northern wind making a mockery of your winter clothing makes going to work in the morning feel like a trek to a Siberian Gulag. I endue this because I refuse to pay the exorbitant rates charged by the Harrisburg Parking Authority for downtown parking. I endure it despite the fact that the parking lot on the island is in comically bad condition and has craters deep enough to swallow small children. I endure it even though my parking pass is only good when it is convenient for the parking authority — not during Harrisburg Senators' games, not during Harrisburg community events and not in case of a flood. And now, despite making absolutely no change to the services being offered, the Harrisburg Parking Authority has raised the price of parking on the island 30 percent.
Yes, it’s only $15 extra a month, bringing the monthly charge to $65. Yes, this city is broke as a joke and probably needs the money more than I do. Yes, it may or may be true that they haven’t raised the rates for parking on the City Island lot in ten years as the Parking Authority claims. Nevertheless, it irritates me that the Parking Authority continues to get away with sticking it to people that have no other option. To be honest, I don’t know if most people even realize how absurd the cost of parking in Harrisburg really is.
As I write this, I am looking out andCulture’s window at the River Street Parking Garage. If I wanted a monthly spot in that garage — which is never, ever full — it would cost me $130 dollars per month. If I wanted a reserved spot it would cost me $175. On days that I can’t park on the island for one reason or another or I need easy access to my car, I pay the hourly rate, which comes to $15 for a business day. I would pay the same at any of the many downtown garages that, sadly enough, dominate Harrisburg’s modest skyline. I always had the feeling that this was kind of a rip-off, but after doing some research I’ve realized that these prices are patently ridiculous.
If I worked in downtown Lancaster — which is at the center of a similarly-sized metropolitan area — I could get an unreserved spot in the Penn Square Parking Garage for $65 per month. Literally half as much as I would pay in Harrisburg. If I worked in downtown York I could park in any of the downtown garages for $81.52 per month. Random, but still a lot less. Scranton? $100. Allentown? $65. Obviously, Harrisburg is far and away the most expensive midsize city in Pennsylvania in which to park.
Let’s compare Harrisburg to other like-sized urban areas: Des Moines Iowa? $98 per month. Knoxville Tennessee? $74 per month. Here’s the absolute kicker. Over the holidays my wife and I went to visit friends in Arlington, VA, just south of Washington DC. It is one of the fastest growing areas in the country and also one of the most expensive places in the country to live. According to citydata.com, the estimated median household income of residents in Arlington proper in 2008 was $101,171. By comparison, the estimated median household income in Harrisburg proper was estimated at $34,037. Monthly garage parking in the Ballston area of Arlington with easy metro access into D.C. ranges from $77 to $105.
I called the Harrisburg Parking Authority, left my information and was never called back. It doesn’t really matter. There is nothing that anyone that works in Harrisburg can do but shut up and pay, but at least now you now just khow ridiculous what you are paying really is.
6 comments so far. Sweet.
I don't understand why people feel entitled to cheap parking. That big asphalt lot on city island is public space. It could make a nice park. Instead, its a sea of asphalt, so the city better make some good money off it.
While we are at it the city should raise the rates for street permit parking. Those prices are way too low for the actual value of the space. We make it too easy for people with cars while making it harder and harder for those who would rather not drive.
You don't have a choice? What a joke! Actually, you choose to live in a place that requires you to drive to work every day. That is your choice.
I'm as big a champion of public transportation as you'll ever find. I'm also a huge proponent of downtown areas and I dislike suburban sprawl. The house I just purchased is roughly two miles from downtown Harrisburg, because, like many people in Central Pennsylvania, I think the negatives of living in the city far outweigh the positive.
With that in mind, I wholeheartedly disagree with you. Expensive parking keeps people from coming downtown and is a deterrent to business development. This is not New York City. It is not DC. There is no metro or subway to help me move from place to place.
I don't feel "entitled" to cheap parking. I feel "entitled" to parking that is not twice as expensive as parking in comparable cities. If the residents of the communities that surrounded Harrisburg stopped coming into the city for work, downtown would be a ghost town. I, and many others around here, have no problem with living in a city. We just don't want to live in Harrisburg.
Parking on City Island in the summer of 2000 was only $30 or $35, then went to $50, and is now $65. There definitely has been a rate increase in the past 10 years prior to this one.
I parked on city island and walked over all last summer. Prior to that I took the bus in to town. Unfortunately for me I don't live near a bus stop, I actually had to drive into New Cumberland and park just to get the bus. But it was still cheaper than parking on the island.
It is definitely too expensive to park in the city but I would imagine that there are reasons why those other cities you mentioned had cheaper parking. They are surely making there money somewhere.
I agree with the parking expense. I live downtown and if it was more affordable i would do monthly parking. Harrisburg says they are broke, but us taxpayers pay for parking for most state city employees. Why should we do this I have to pay for my parking as well as the person earlier staed about parking at city island. I feel if this employees who make between 50,000 to over 100,000 let them pay for their own parking that could put a big dent in the budget.
I am a private parking provider in the City of Harrisburg. I have reserved spaces available for $50 per month on Market Street near the Post Office. Contact me at Realrentals@verizon.net for more information.