NEWS INFORMATION FROM

THE OFFICE OF MAYOR STEPHEN R. REED
City of Harrisburg
King City Government Center
Harrisburg, PA 17101-1678
Telephone: 717.255.3040

FOR IMMEDIATE USE
April 7, 2004

NEW PARKING KEYS & NIGHTTIME GARAGE PASSES MAKE CITY PARKING MORE CONVENIENT & AFFORDABLE

Harrisburg, PA—Mayor Stephen R. Reed and the Harrisburg Parking Authority (HPA) today announced several convenient and affordable new ways for visitors and workers to park at city parking meters and in downtown garages. The innovative new parking programs includes a pre-purchased “cash key” that eliminates the need for quarters and allows for the use of on-street meters with the simple push of the key. Another component is a special new $50 monthly parking pass for use in city garages between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

Reed said the “new parking programs are intended to make parking more convenient and affordable for regular and occasional visitors to the city, as well as to encourage evening workers in downtown to use city garages for their parking, rather than on-street parking spaces. Removing workers from the metered spots in the evenings will free up more spaces for visitors.”

The Mayor said the new “cash key” program involves the purchase of any desired amount of parking value, beginning with a minimum of $10 and increasing in $10 increments. The customer simply inserts the pre-paid key into the designated slot in the meter for the desired amount of parking time. The “cash key” eliminates the need for quarters, or can be used in conjunction with quarters, and can be conveniently placed on a key ring for easy access. The key is inserted into each meter once for each desired block of time purchased, ranging from ten to fifteen minutes depending on where the meter is located. A $15 refundable deposit is also required for each key purchased, and the key can be recharged with an additional amount of parking time when its current amount is depleted.

Reed said that, additionally, the new evening garage pass program is specifically designed to encourage frequent and longer term evening parkers to downtown, such as Restaurant Row employees, to use the city’s garage facilities instead of on-street spaces. The $50 monthly passes allow parkers to utilize any one of the eight HPA garages for their parking needs between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. This pass offers a savings over hourly garage rates, and it allows an exit from your selected garage after the attendant has left, a helpful tool for those in the city in the late evening or early morning hours. Many on-street spaces in Center City are currently taken by employees of downtown businesses during these off-peak hours, thus limiting the amount of on-street parking available for visitors and customers to downtown.

Reed said both of the new programs can be utilized by downtown businesses to encourage more patronage as well as provide more controlled parking opportunities for their evening and nighttime employees.

The Mayor noted that there 1,250 parking meters located in the city, with most located in the Central Business District in downtown. Depending upon their location, the total amount of time that a parker can use at any single metered space ranges from two to four hours, or for an unlimited amount of time. Metered time also varies from ten minutes to fifteen minutes per $.25, depending upon the location of the meter.

Reed said parkers and businesses interested in learning more about the new “cash key” and evening garage parking programs should contact the Harrisburg Parking Authority at (717) 255.3099, or stop by their downtown offices at Suite 317, 123 Walnut Street, Harrisburg, PA 17101, or visit their website at www.harrisburgparking.org.

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