Parking meter rates rise near FedExForum area

Hours also to be extended in entertainment district

The Memphis City Council voted Tuesday to hike parking meter rates by 25 cents and extend operating hours for meters in the FedExForum area.

The council voted 10-1 to increase all meter rates to $1.50 per hour and extended hours for meters in the entertainment district that includes the FedExForum to 8 a.m to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, effective immediately. In addition to Sundays, the city won’t monitor the meters on Christmas, New Year’s Day, Independence Day and Thanksgiving.

The changes aim to capture traffic for special events like Memphis Grizzlies games. The city currently charges $1.25 per hour from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“It’s a great vote, a great opportunity,” council chairman and ordinance sponsor Berlin Boyd said after the vote. “It’s basically increasing our revenue stream.”

Boyd estimated the parking meter changes will generate an additional $1.4 million for the city, “maybe more.” The ordinance won’t require additional meter attendants, he said.

Councilman Martavius Jones, who cast the only “no” vote, said he wasn’t against the move, but wanted to explore the other options.

“It was really nothing major,” Jones

said of his issue with the ordinance. “I just wanted to see if we had considered what the financial impact would be if we cut it off at 8 o’clock instead of 10 o’clock.”

Boyd previously proposed a flat $10 rate for onstreet parking during special events like Grizzlies games and operating the meters around the clock, but amended his ordinance Tuesday to reflect the new requirements.

The city last increased hourly meter rates from $1 to $1.25 in January 2016, and before that from 75 cents to $1 in 2011.

Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.