Portland has seen a rebound in parking ticket revenue, and visitors to the Old Port are footing a big piece of the bill.
The city brought in $2.1 million from parking enforcement in the last fiscal year, more than in any year since 2015. And it could make even more this year because fees for expired meters and most other parking violations just went up by $5, making an expired meter ticket $25.
The city’s latest parking ticket data makes it clear that drivers should be most wary of getting a ticket in the Old Port. Of the top 10 streets for tickets, nearly all are in the retail and tourist district, with Commercial Street being the clear leader in expired meter fines.
Vehicles parked in expired spaces account for more than one in four parking tickets issued by the city. Of the expired meter tickets issued citywide during the first half of this calendar year, Commercial Street accounted for about 15%, or 2,000 out of 12,900 such tickets.
Over 900 expired meter tickets were given on Free Street during the first half of 2024 across 95 metered spots. Over 700 were given on Exchange Street across 60 metered spots. And over 4,000 other expired meter tickets have been given across Spring, Fore, Congress, State, Casco, Market, and Federal streets.
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