Starting July 1, Parking in Parts of Portland’s Old Port Will Go Up

Hopefully, tourists will take the brunt of most of the parking hike. But sorry, trash bag prices are going up too.

Let's start with parking. It's not as bad as it will first sound. Parking at meters will go from $2.00 an hour to $2.50 an hour. But this hike is only in the downtown area bounded by Middle Street, Pearl Street, and Commercial Street to Union Street and all of Commercial Street. The Commercial Street one will be hard to avoid, but when we are stuffed with tourists, I think they will be the ones taking the brunt of this hike. Here's the small area where parking goes up 50 cents.

Again, this won't go into effect until July 1, right before the 4th of July. So, just be ready for that.

Then, if you are a Portland resident, your garbage bags are going up too. Portland is part of the Pay-As-You-Throw system, which means, that you pay per bag. The thought is that you'll be way more likely to recycle and/or compost since you have to pay to throw away your garbage. Works for me! I compost and recycle like a demon and I don't live in Portland, but I also pay per bag.

Here are the price changes:

15-gallon bag - currently $1.50 - going to $1.75

30-gallon bag - currently $3.00 - going to $3.50

I found that when towns and cities switched to the Pay-As-You-Throw system, I had to recycle more. Garbage to Garden is an excellent option where you pay $15-$19 a month and they come and pick up your food scraps the same day they pick up your garbage. I can usually get all my garbage in one bag using them, and I help make awesome Maine Organic Farmers and Gardners Association approved compost. Just a thought.