“Dear Ithaca, why are you charging for parking on the weekends?”
This year, I vowed to take some space from the progressive, college-town culture I live in. My livelihood depends on locals buying my handmade hats, but after 10 years of rejection, judgement and unrealistic expectations, I decided to put my pennies into other communities.
Still, when a friend asked to stay at my house while she vended at Apple Harvest Festival, my financial desperation nudged me into her booth to try for some sales. That’s how I found myself downtown early one Saturday, watching parking garage attendants set up sandwich boards that read “$10 a Day Parking.”
In many towns that host downtown festivals, parking is free. Local councils understand that easy access increases foot traffic and benefits merchants. But when parking and attending the festival myself, I saw a downtown garage putting out a sign advertising $10 to park.
That $10 per car could have gone to small businesses: hats, cider, meals, books. Instead, it was siphoned off by a system whose benefits are largely invisible.
The City of Ithaca’s own documents show that parking revenue is not earmarked for community reinvestment. According to the 2025 City Council Budget, the city confirms all parking fees collected and in addition to, parking revenue is budgeted as a General Fund line item alongside items like fines and Cornell University’s Memorandum of Agreement.
While parking system expenses are budgeted at $5 million, largely covering operations, debt and garage repairs and $1.03 million to Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit, this is a general “Outside Agencies” line, not linked to garage fees.
The City’s official fee schedule sets a “Special Event” garage rate of $5 per day, which can be seen in the City’s fee schedule. Yet vendors reported $10 signage during Apple Fest, raising questions about consistency.
Nowhere in these documents is there evidence that Apple Fest garage fees — or any event parking surcharges — are directed toward downtown merchants, transit subsidies for workers or festival-related improvements.
This isn’t an argument against city revenue; it is an argument against opacity. If the city could point to examples such as 25% of Apple Fest parking revenue subsidized bus passes for downtown employees, or this weekend’s revenue funded sidewalk repairs and lighting on the Commons, I would be less frustrated.
New York City recently tested fare-free buses, causing transit conflicts to drop by nearly 40% according to MTA/NYC DOT reports.
Imagine if Ithaca reinvested its festival parking revenue into free shuttles or mobility improvements downtown, providing festival attendees and visitors to the city a relief from driving and parking at all.
Cornell University already subsidizes TCAT at $3.3 million annually, keeping buses frequent for students and staff. That is a real, transparent model of institutional subsidy that eases pressure on downtown parking. But when it comes to the city’s parking revenue, the lack of documentation leaves vendors and residents to assume the worst.
Instead of seeing money flow back into transit, sidewalks or merchant support, we see half-million-dollar fountains and budget lines that bury parking under “general operations.”
Ithaca should publish an annual Parking Transparency Report. Show residents how much was collected at special events and how those dollars were spent. Earmark a portion of festival parking revenue for downtown improvements, transit subsidies or direct support to local businesses that make events possible.
Otherwise, do not charge fees at all if the city has already allotted weekday parking costs to necessary city maintenance.
