Part-time or low-income employees in downtown Anchorage are now being offered a steep discount at city parking garages.
The Anchorage Community Development Authority, which manages parking in downtown Anchorage, announced Friday the expansion of a pilot program to offer a 70 percent discount on monthly garage parking permits to some downtown workers.
A February survey found that downtown employees were having trouble finding and paying for parking. This summer, the ACDA tested the discount program with close to 100 Anchorage 5th Avenue Mall employees, said Melinda Gant, an ACDA spokeswoman.
Many of the mall employees were part-time workers. It turned out that a large number were parking on the street or paying hourly rates in parking garages, Gant said.
Gant said the discount program is aimed at freeing up street parking for shoppers while lowering costs for employees. The parking authority recently raised street parking costs, which officials said was also intended to free up street parking and usher more drivers into underused garages.
Qualifying employees must work part-time or make less than $35,000 a year. Applicants will need to submit a pay stub and a work schedule. Those documents will also be needed to renew future discounts. Up to three months of discounted parking can be purchased at a time.
For example, at the J.C. Penney parking garage at Sixth Avenue and E Street, employees or low-income residents could pay $28.50 a month instead of the full-price rate of $90.
To request an application, call EasyPark at 907-276-7275.