City's Free Holiday Parking to Start Dec. 14

One week from today Portsmouth residents and visitors will enjoy an early Christmas present when they will be able to park downtown for free through the new year.

Tom Cocchiaro, the parking operations supervisor, issued a press release on Thursday saying free downtown parking will be offered from Friday, Dec. 14 through Wednesday, Jan. 2 after the City Council authorized it.

He also said that while the City Council recently authorized the Parking and Transportation Division to forego parking meter collection enforcement during the holiday period again this year, the city's parking enforcement offices will continue to enforce the posted time limits at metered spaces. What this means is that if someone parks in a two-hour metered space for more than two hours, they can still get a ticket.

Cocchiaro also said that drivers will get parking tickets if they park in handicapped spaces or in loading zones.

Free parking spaces will be indicated by display cards inside the parking meters that will read, “Season’s Greetings – Free Parking” and indicate the time limit for that parking space, according to Cocchiaro.

He said holiday shoppers and visitors who want to spend more time downtown than the two-hour time limit should use the High-Hanover Parking Facility at 34 Hanover St., which charges a rate of 75 cents per hour.

Cocchiaro said several downtown merchants that belong to the Downtown Parking Validation Program can provide their customers with up to four hours of free parking at the High-Hanover Facility. The program, which is supported by the City of Portsmouth and the Downtown Business Association, is intended to make shopping and parking in Downtown Portsmouth much easier, he said.

He said participating merchants display a blue sticker with letter “P” in their storefront windows.

Another transportation perk that city residents and visitors may also enjoy is that COAST trolleys will offer free transportation downtown for the next two weekends as part of the Vintage Christmas program.

According to event organizers, people can ride the Christmas trolleys for free this weekend and the weekend before Christmas. from 1:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., courtesy of the city. The trolley runs on a quick 20-minute loop with multiple shopping and dining stops. A route map is available at http://vintagechristmasnh.org/files/core/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/VXMapFlier_2012.pdf.