KINGSTON – The City of Kingston will resume paid meter parking on Monday, July 27. The municipal parking lots will remain free of charge until Columbus Day.
With the Mid-Hudson Region now in phase four of the state’s re-opening plan, many restaurants and retail stores are opening to the public, and the need for instituting short-term parking has returned, city officials said.
“We have heard from local businesses who are reopening requesting to reinstate metered parking across the City,” said Mayor Steven Noble. “In order to do everything we can to support these local businesses, we are bringing back the parking meters and keeping the parking lots free of charge. We hope this will encourage residents and visitors to enjoy shopping and dining, while not leaving their vehicle long-term, which hinders business access for others.”
“Especially in Uptown, the businesses who are re-opening are grateful that the metered parking is returning,” said Elenie Loizou, Kingston Uptown Business Association president. “We think this is a great way to allow visitors and locals to do their shopping and dining, and for those needing longer-term parking to use the lots.”
“Knowing that they will now be able to find available parking spaces, shoppers will increasingly support our outstanding Uptown restaurants and retail operations,” said Second Ward Alderman Douglas Koop.
All parking meters were bagged and all fees were suspended on Monday, March 16, in response to COVID-19, in order to help slow the spread of the virus. Comptroller John Tuey estimates Kingston has lost approximately $375,000 in income from meter fees and parking violations.
‘Whoosh,’ the mobile parking app used by city meters and kiosks, will be changing over to the ‘’Flowbird’ app on August 1. In order to pay for parking meters electronically, Whoosh will be available until the changeover to Flowbird is complete. All customer data such as vehicle, license plate and payment details, will be exported from Whoosh to Flowbird automatically. See https://flowbirdapp.com/ for download and user instructions.
