Local parking district partners with DMV

Vince Meehan | Uptown News

Thanks to a deal struck between the Uptown Community Parking District and the Department of Motor Vehicles, those in search of parking in Hillcrest now have access to the 158 parking spaces in the DMV lot at 3960 Normal St. for the better part of each week.

The lot will be open for public parking from 6:30 p.m. – 3 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays  and from 7 – 3 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Elizabeth Hannon, the parking district’s chief operating officer, is relieved to have finally inked the deal with the DMV.

“It took five years of wrangling to get this deal finalized, so I’m happy to see it happen,” Hannon said.

She credited several elected officials as being a tremendous help during the process, including Council President Todd Gloria and former State Senator Christine Kehoe.

Hannon singled out Christopher Ward, chief of staff for State Senator Marty Block as having a huge impact on bringing the plan to fruition.

“[Ward] really went out of his way to see this thing through,” Hannon said. “It’s a great asset to have someone like him working for our community.”

The DMV now serves as the eastern terminus of a free street trolley service, which shuttles passengers to and from the DMV lot and Hillcrest’s Fifth Street business corridor at University Avenue, with several stops in between. The trolley, which is also run by the parking district, runs from 5 – 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Sundays in conjunction with the Hillcrest Farmers’ Market.

These services are two of many which can be found online at the parking district’s website (parkhillcrest.com), including valet parking and validation programs. Hannon encourages smart phone users to download the free “Park Hillcrest” app, where all these services can be found, as well as parking availability and a real-time trolley-tracking feature.

The campaign to create more parking options in Hillcrest extends beyond this deal with DMV. Hannon also said that with the help of creative re-striping and parking re-configurations, the parking district has added 44 additional on-street parking spaces to the Hillcrest neighborhood. This, combined with available spaces at the DMV, adds over 200 parking spots to the community.

“We’re currently working on replacing our current parking meters with new ‘smart meters,’ which you can access through your smart phone.” Hannon said. “With these new meters, you will be able to tell if individual spots are occupied or not, and in time, you will be able to check the app to make sure you are not exceeding your time limit.”

Pre-paid parking cards are another option available to drivers parking in metered spaces. Available for purchase at the Hillcrest Ace Hardware or the Downtown Parking Administration Building in Civic Plaza, the cards work with Uptown meters, and users have the option to refund unused meter time back onto the card.

Visit parkuptown.org for more information on the Uptown Community Parking District.

Correction: This article originally stated incorrect operating hours for the Hillcrest Trolley and the DMV lot’s public parking. We regret this error.