Hey Portland: Give Residents a Discount on Parking Like Portsmouth, New Hampshire

If Portsmouth, New Hampshire, can do it, I bet Portland, Maine, could give residents a break on parking too.

According to Seacoastonline, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, just raised their parking rates and gave a bigger discount to residents. Wait. Residents get a break on parking? That's brilliant! You raise the rates for the tourists and cut residents a break! That way, you don't lose out on any money, and Portlanders aren't so pissy about parking.

Here's how it works in Portsmouth:

• The rate for all on-street and parking lot spaces is $2 per hour for the first three hours, and $5 per hour after that.
• Portsmouth residents paying with the ParkMobile app pay $1.25 per hour for the first three hours, and $2.25 per hour after that.

Portland has a parking app too! It's the Passport Parking app.

Portsmouth also got rid of the higher-priced 'zones'. Portland has those zones too! Ditch them! They took the higher-priced zones and made that the one price for all zones. I love this! The more condos that go up, the less parking there is.

How will Portland, Maine, know you live in Portland, Maine?

Here's how they did it in Portsmouth, according to Seacoastonline. If you live in Portsmouth, you head to the parking division offices. I know Portland has that (Room 20 in City Hall). You can apply for the discount there.*

*This is brilliant. It puts the responsibility of getting the discount in the resident's hands!

Portsmouth will even validate parking for 30 minutes while you apply! You need a valid New Hampshire driver’s license with a Portsmouth address, a current vehicle registration with a Portsmouth address (for each vehicle), and some kind of utility bill or rental agreement with your name and Portsmouth address.

Viola! Come on Portland! This seems easy and inexpensive, and puts the burden of expensive Portland parking on tourists. The way life should be.