Changes to city parking rates may have students scrambling for change

By Tara Ricks | tsmith2@flagler.edu

Students who regularly use city parking might want to empty out their piggy banks and start saving all their loose change now that city of St. Augustine parking prices have gone from 25 cents an hour to $1.50 per hour for both street parking and lot parking.

“A lot of people we find are feeding the meters and not taking notice of the price changes, which is causing a lot of unnecessary fees for students,” said Tara Bennie parking coordinator for the city of St. Augustine.

Still, there are a couple of important tips for local residents and students.

The city is now offering the PayNow card. It can be purchased in increments of $20, $50 and $100. The card offers a significant discount to anyone who purchases it by dropping the rate from $1.50 an hour to 50 cents an hour.

It can also be recharged at anytime. The city has begun installing new parking meters throughout town that accept the PayNow cards.

Students might not notice the price change in the parking lot across from Scarlett O’Hara’s until mid-October — that’s when the city is bringing in meters to be updated with the new prices. But they may notice that the parking in front of the restaurant on Hypolita Street has been eliminated.

For more details on the PayNow card go to the city’s Financial Services Center on the corner of Bridge and Granada Streets, or call (904) 825-1034.