According to an article in the Alaska Dispatch-News, the downtown garages and parking meters are managed by the Anchorage Community Development Authority (ACDA), which said its costs have increased, and it had to increase rates and make other changes to generate revenue. Among these changes was having people pay for using parking meters on Saturdays. Officials with the ACDA said charging for parking was intended to discourage people who work downtown from filling up the spaces, instead leaving them free for weekend shoppers.
However, Anchorage's mayor, Ethan Berkowitz, objected to the idea, and wrote a letter to Dick Stallone, ACDA's operations committee chair, citing his concern that charging for parking on Saturdays would have what he called:
“unintended, negative economic impacts.”
Berkowitz apparently feared that charging for parking would drive customers away, instead of bringing them into the city. He asked the ACDA to take another look at the matter.
While street parking will remain free, rates are increasing elsewhere. Two- and four-hour meters will go to $1.75 per hour from $1.25 per hours, and a 10-hour meter will go to $1.25 per hour from $.75 per hour. Rates for surface lots and garages will also go up slightly.
Communities such as these can benefit from working with a flyer printing company to create information material for residents.