GALVESTON, Texas – The next time you visit the Strand in Galveston, you may be paying a bit more for parking. That is, if City Council approves.
Galveston City Councilmember David Collins, who represents District 3, said the increase would benefit the beautification of The Strand as more tourists visit the area.
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Currently, visitors are paying $1.70 per hour in downtown, according to Collins.
“Most of our downtown revenue comes from tourist parking,” he said. “We want to get downtown Galveston cleaned up, it’s something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”
The parking rate would be increased to $2.25 -- a 50 cent raise. Collins said he has also considered adding a parking rate to Sundays, which is currently free.
Collins said he hopes to form a cleaning crew to continuously clean the Strand, such as day-to-day litter cleanup, garbage management, powerwashing sidewalks, among other jobs.
City Council is set to vote on the increase sometime this month. If approved, the rate increase would be implemented in April, according to Collins.
Sunday parking rates -- from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. -- would take effect as soon as the measure is approved.
Collins does not think the rate increase should deter tourists from coming to the Island.
“I don’t think it’ll discourage people. I mean, an extra 50 cents an hour is not going to send people away,” he said. “If you go to any place in downtown you will be charged for parking.”
For more information on parking around Galveston Island, click here.