Portland, Maine’s Parking Problem: A Crisis for Downtown Workers

If you’ve tried parking in downtown Portland, Maine, lately, you know it’s a nightmare. On-street parking is a headache, and garage prices have skyrocketed. Just five years ago, some of the city’s busiest parking garages charged $2.50 per hour, capping their 24-hour rates at $30–$40. Now? Those same garages have nearly doubled their hourly rates, with 24-hour fees hitting $50. Monthly parking? Some garages are pushing past $200.

Tourists may grumble about the cost and as much as we rely on their business, they come and go. The real issue? The downtown workers—especially those in the service industry—who are getting squeezed the hardest.

The 2-Hour Rule is Killing Servers’ Paychecks

Portland’s parking rules make life even harder. The city enforces a strict 2-hour limit per spot, and you can’t just renew your time—you have to move your car to a different block entirely. That’s a tough ask for restaurant workers who can’t exactly abandon their tables to go find a new parking space.

I was chatting with a friend the other day who was telling me that him along with many other Dowtown Portland servers have racked up parking tickets simply because they couldn’t leave work to relocate their car. They tried using the Passport parking app to extend their time, hoping enforcement officers would cut them a break, but no luck. At $30 per ticket, those fines add up fast.

The alternative? Parking garages. But with daily rates as high as $50, some servers end up spending more than half their tip money just to park for a shift. That’s brutal, especially when restaurant traffic is down and tipping has become more unpredictable.

There Has to Be a Better Way

So what’s the solution? One idea—Portland could issue businesses a set number of parking exemptions for employees working downtown. A sticker or permit system could allow service industry workers to bypass the 2-hour rule in designated areas. Another option? A discounted parking program for downtown employees at the city-owned garages. Sure, it might mean a bit of a walk for some, but at least it would be a step in the right direction.

With the cost of living soaring and restaurants struggling to stay afloat, parking shouldn’t be another financial burden forcing good employees out of the industry. This is a fixable problem, and it needs to be a bigger priority for city officials.

Let’s get this conversation going—because what’s happening now isn’t sustainable for Portland’s downtown workers.