Parking in downtown Great Falls is free Dec. 14-25. The city has more than 1,000 metered spaces in the downtown district and is continuing the annual tradition of not charging for parking the week before Christmas. The two hour maximum parking limit at all parking meters remains in effect to “ensure everyone has access to parking,” according to the city.
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Discussions about how to best manage the city’s parking program are continuing. Last week, the Parking Advisory Board met to discuss the changes that have been implemented so far and other potential options, to include exploring a long-term lease for operation of the city’s parking system. The city’s contract with SP+ expires at the end of the year and Craig
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Hope you’ve all enjoyed the weather this weekend. Here’s your Sunday reads: CityLab: Parking Reform Will Save the City AP: Bankers Expect Slow Economic Growth Amid Trade War PEW: Yoga, Zumba Narcan: Check Out Your Local Library RTDNA: Elimination of Copy Editors Has Been Disastrous for Newspapers Washington Post: The End of an American Tradition: The Amtrak Dining Car Forbes:
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Great Falls Fire Rescue is proposing a fee increase for certain services and the City Commission will consider the change during their Aug. 6 meeting. The fees were last changed in April 2014 and includes fees for investigation reports, facility and equipment rental, ladder testing, hose repair, breathing air bottle filling and more. The proposal would increase the fees by
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Complaints about abandoned vehicles are fairly common and the Great Falls Police Department is regularly handling those complaints. GFPD’s response to abandoned vehicles is complaint driven and the process is dictated by state and local regulations. “We don’t actively seek out abandoned vehicles,” said Lt. Doug Mahlum of GFPD’s Support Services Bureau. “There are laws that we have to follow before
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Beginning July 1, parking meter rates in downtown Great Falls will increase to $1 per hour. The City Commission voted 4-1 on Tuesday, with Commissioner Tracy Houck dissenting, to increase the meter rate; replace the annual courtesy ticket with one per lifetime of a license plate; and slightly revise the fines for time violations. The new fine structure will be:
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Faced with year’s of deferred maintenance that the parking program hasn’t been able to afford, the Parking Advisory Commission has recommended several changes that the City Commission will consider Tuesday night. Last fall’s proposal to quadruple meter rates on Central Avenue was essentially dead in the water and the PAC has since revised the proposal. $2 meter rate hike proposal
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled this week that chalking vehicles for parking enforcement is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. So far, the decision does not affect Great Falls or other Montana cities since the 6th Circuit includes Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Great Falls does chalk vehicles as part of its parking enforcement program
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The city is hosting two public meetings on March 20 to discuss the proposed changes to the downtown parking program. The first meeting is at noon in the Gibson Room and the second at 6 p.m. in the City Commission chambers, both at the Civic Center. City staff and the Parking Advisory Board will present the PAC’s recommendations to gather
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The proposal to raise parking meter rates in downtown Great Falls last fall was essentially dead on arrival and the Parking Advisory Commission voted Thursday afternoon to make a more modest increase. They’re planning to take that proposal to a City Commission work session in April, meaning it will be at least May before the commission would take any action
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