LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lexington’s new parking policy has been in effect since the start of the year, but business owners’ frustrations have only escalated in recent weeks.
“It’s so frustrating because restaurants are struggling right now anyway. We just got out of a pandemic and we’re hearing everyone talk about inflation,” said downtown employee Sylvia Gross.
Patrons now have to pay for parking Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. – that’s an additional day and additional hours.
According to Gross, if it weren’t for her boss paying out of pocket for employee parking downtown, she would work somewhere else in Lexington.
In addition to the uptick in pricing, business owners and employees call the parking changes confusing.
“Some spots are $2 an hour, some are 75 cents, you just don’t know, it’s vague and I think it’s meant to be vague,” said Gross.
According to LexPark, the changes were necessary to comply with a new parking sales tax and to make improvements to parking garages while encouraging parking turnover.
For the next six weeks, LexPark will write warnings until drivers have a better grasp on the changes.
“We’ve been through changes before, and downtown survived those changes,” said LexPark executive director Gary Means. “We’re confident that we’re not putting something downtown that downtown can’t handle, that downtown can’t pull through, and really thrive through this.”
For Lussi Brown Coffee Bar owner Sarah Brown, the issues lie not with the change, but with the lead up to those changes.
“It was a change that affects everyone, and no one was notified or asked for an opinion,” said Brown.
Around the corner, Sidebar Grill owner Lisa Cox has seen drivers confused by the parking changes. Even her own employees feed the parking meters throughout the day to keep their vehicles parked nearby.
“It’s just very inconvenient and when it comes time to hire again, I’m going to have a lot of problems getting people who drive…they’re going to go someplace where they don't have to pay.
As a longtime resident of Limestone Street, Cox worries that the increased hassle in parking downtown will turn away patrons altogether and change the culture of downtown Lexington.
“If you push out all the mom-and-pop places, there’s no character left,” said Cox.
“It’s hard to stay competitive with places like Hamburg or the Summit where parking is free and they can stay however long they want,” echoed Brown.
Amid business owners’ concerns over parking, LexPark is gathering data and determining whether they can ease up on the new rules.
“To make it right, we’ve all agreed that we can take the increase during the day, it’s the five to nine that is really going to be the nail in the coffin for some of these places,” said Cox.
On a once bumper-to-bumper curb, business owners are asking for a seat at the table as parking conversations continue.
“This is a much bigger picture than a couple of business owners worried about parking,” said Brown. “This is going to affect the entire environment of downtown Lexington.”
