Parking As Shown on the Map
1. Sophia Street Paid Parking Garage at the Intersection of Sophia Street and Wolfe Street, with the entrance on Wolfe Street. Paring is free for the first three hours, $8/day maximum weekdays and $2/day maximum weekends.
2. Free Parking Lot in the 400 block of Sophia Street, just south of the railroad tracks. It’s restricted to city residents with the appropriate parking decal from 5 a.m. – 6 p.m.
3. Free Parking Lot at the intersection of Sophia Street and Charlotte Street. These are two-hour spaces 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
4. Free Parking Lot in the 700 block Sophia Street, between Charlotte Street and Hanover Street. It’s restricted to city residents with the appropriate parking decal 5 – 8 a.m. Monday through Friday.
5. Free Parking Lot in the 800 – 900 blocks of Sophia Street, at the end of George Street. It’s restricted to city residents with the appropriate parking decal 5 – 8 a.m. Monday through Friday.
6. Free Parking Lot in the 1000 block of Sophia Street.
7. Paid Parking Lot behind 904 Princess Anne St, accessible from Princess Anne and Charles Streets. Parking is available from 6 p.m. – 6 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 24 hours on weekends. Parking is free 6 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Sundays.
The Reason for the Flier
“[It’s] a way to promote the availability of after-hours public parking in that area on weeknights and weekends,” said Bill Freehling, assistant director for Economic Development.
“The parking lot at 904 Princess Anne St. (number 7 on the map) will be free to the public from 6 p.m. to 6 a .m. Monday through Friday and all day on weekends and holidays throughout the month of March, Freehling said. “We will closely monitor the lot in March to evaluate usage, and make a decision for April and beyond on cost, based in part on those results.”
The 18-space lot behind Virginia Partners Bank at 410 William St. (not on map) is also available free of charge from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. Monday through Friday, after noon on Saturday and all day Sunday.
“In about a month or so, the lot at 1016 Charles St. (not on map) will provide the public with another 46 parking spaces on weeknights and weekends,” Freehling said. The decision has yet to be made as to what the cost will be. “We are leaning toward making it a free lot with restrictions on the amount of time one can park there in one stretch, probably two hours,” Freehling said.
Some of the spaces in the Charles Street lot could be leased to Battle Creek Construction, purchaser of the McKann Center, former home to the Fredericksburg Area Museum and Cultural Center. This was previously agreed to by City Council, Freehling said. In addition, 13 of the spaces are reserved on weekdays for the purchaser of the former StellarOne building, but could be available to the public on weeknights and weekends.
A Half Empty Parking Garage
Parking is a frequent topic in City Council work sessions.
The city’s Sophia Street Parking Garage, located at the corner of Sophia Street and Wolfe Street, has 297 spaces, but is only 55 percent occupied on weekdays, according to City Manager Bev Cameron.
Many City Hall staff don’t even use the garage. According to Cameron, most park in the free two-hour spots on the street, and move their cars throughout the day.
City Council may reconsider the parking deck fee. One idea is to make parking in the deck free for people who work downtown. This would give downtown workers a free place to park and open up spaces on the streets for shoppers and visitors.
“We’re not making anything off those empty spaces, so let’s fill them, even temporarily,” said Councilor Kerry Devine.
More
Revised Bid Accepted for Fredericksburg Museum’s McKann Center
Fredericksburg EDA Purchases Former StellarOne Bank Property
