Changes to the City’s paid parking program to allow greater flexibility downtown and near UTMB are going into effect on Monday, March 23rd.

The Galveston City Council during a February meeting approved a new ordinance affecting paid parking in both the downtown and UTMB areas.

Under the approved changes, drivers will be able to pay in 30-minute increments after the first hour, rather than in full-hour increments only. The ordinance adds a transaction fee for payments made using PayByPhone. The downtown pay stations will not include a transaction fee. 

These changes were requested by City Council to go into effect by April 1st. The city has worked with the paid parking vendor to implement these changes and will roll out the new capabilities on March 23rd. 

The hourly parking rate will remain $2.25 and the 30-minute rate is $1.25. Each paid parking purchase is considered a transaction. Under the new ordinance, applicable transaction fees will be added to the parking rate. At this time, transactions made by phone or through the PayByPhone app will include a $0.30 transaction fee, which is subject to change. Drivers who pay at one of the 17 downtown pay stations will not be charged the transaction fee.

The downtown paid parking district includes the area from 20th Street to 25th Street and from Harborside Drive to Church Street. The UTMB parking district includes the area from 14th Street to Holiday Drive and from Harborside Drive to Broadway Boulevard.