It could soon be easier for downtown Sacramento workers to find parking
SACRAMENTO — It may soon be easier for workers in downtown Sacramento to find a place to park.
The city council approved a new program that will reserve spaces on the street strictly for employees who work nearby.
"It just seems harder and harder to find somewhere to park," said midtown worker Laura Bruce.
"It can be difficult finding a spot in midtown," said Greg Hartnett, who also works in the area.
Many small businesses don't have dedicated parking lots so workers are forced to find a space on the street.
"I'll have to circle around, sometimes causing me to be late to work," Hartnett said.
Some businesses say workers are often discouraged by a lack of parking.
"It makes it difficult to find new bartenders, servers, anybody for the restaurant industry," Bruce said.
"So if you can't get employees to come to work, then obviously it's a problem for the businesses that are trying to survive," said Erika Galang, a parking specialist with the City of Sacramento.
Galang said there's now a new effort to make it easier for employees to find a parking spot.
"It's kind of like we create an employees parking zone on the street," she said.
It's called the Merchant Parking Program and businesses that participate can purchase a pass for their workers that would allow them to park in the reserved spots.
"We try to find the most underutilized spaces on the street near their business where employees can park so that way when employees come into work, they know exactly where to go to park," Galang said. "They don't have to drive around the block."
So how much will this dedicated employee parking pass cost?
"Some payment areas might be $5 a month per car," Galang said. "Some might be up to $100 per month per car depending on the occupancy."
A successful pilot project began in 2019 and now the program is being expanded citywide.
"I definitely think a program like that would be very helpful and it would honestly make us feel more respected as workers and help us be at work on time," Hartnett said.
On Tuesday, the city council also approved similar reserved parking spaces for teachers on streets near their schools.
