Portsmouth council tells staff to preserve short free period on High Street while revising downtown parking ordinance

At a public work session, Portsmouth City Manager Steven Carter said the city will return with ordinance language that preserves a short free parking period on High Street while implementing paid parking in selected off‑street lots and timed areas and increasing the standard on‑street rate. "It also increased the on street parking fees from $1.25 to $2 per hour," James Wright, city engineer, told the council about the proposed code change.

Why it matters: Business owners, residents and council members flagged competing priorities: turnover for High Street customers, protection for residents who live on High Street, and fairness for workers who need longer‑term parking. Council members said they heard repeated public comment urging the city to preserve some free parking on High Street to avoid chasing customers away.

Council discussion focused on two policy paths. One option preserves a free initial period on High Street (the working consensus was two hours) and then applies escalating charges to discourage long‑term parking; the other would make High Street paid from the moment of arrival and offer two free hours in nearby surface lots to incentivize off‑street parking. "What I heard at the meeting… they want us to preserve free parking along the High Street corridor for some period of time," Councilman Hugo said during the discussion.

Staff outlined operational details the council asked to be included when the ordinance is drafted: which streets and surface lots will be in the paid zone, how the free period will be enforced (by vehicle plate registration), and payment options. Steven Carter explained how the proposed enforcement works: the short free period would be tracked by license plate registration so a vehicle could not extend the free window simply by moving to another space.

Council members repeatedly urged staff to pair any pricing changes with improved wayfinding and enforcement. "We need proper signage," the vice mayor said, arguing that drivers are not always aware of off‑street options such as King Square and other garages. Members also raised equity and accessibility concerns about replacing meters with QR‑code or text payments; staff said pay stations (kiosks) would be added at select locations to accommodate customers who prefer or need to pay with cash.

The city manager said staff will return with cleaned‑up ordinance language and operational details at the first regular meeting in June. The council did not adopt an ordinance at the work session; it provided direction to staff and signaled a preference for the short free period approach with accompanying signage, enforcement and outreach plans.

The next step: City staff will prepare draft ordinance language, a wayfinding plan and an enforcement/education strategy for council review at the next meeting.