Albany

The last hour of parking at some downtown meters is now free, but the first nine are getting more expensive.

The Albany Parking Authority will shut its meters off an hour earlier on weeknights at more than 400 downtown spaces but is raising long-term meter rates as much as 40 percent to encourage turnover and help cover the cost, officials said.

All three downtown parking authority garages will also be free on weeknights, with free parking available at one of them — the Riverfront Garage at Columbia Street and Broadway — on weekends.

The changes are being made in partnership with the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District in hopes of making it easier for people to visit downtown, Mayor Kathy Sheehan said.

First Niagara bank is subsidizing free parking at the Quackenbush Garage for all Palace Theater events. That garage, located on Orange Street between Broadway and Water Street, will remain open for two hours after those events to encourage theatergoers to visit downtown restaurants and businesses.

"The Albany Parking Authority and the Downtown BID have come up with a great plan for free, accessible parking that will attract more feet on the street downtown," Sheehan said in a statement. "By providing this parking, we're adding another strong incentive for visitors to come downtown and for more residents to settle in Albany's fastest-growing neighborhood."

At 420 metered spaces within the confines of the BID, free parking will now begin at 5 p.m. rather than 6 p.m.

While the meter rates at those spots will remain the same — $1.25 per hour — for the first two hours they will increase by 50 cents an hour in hours three through five and by $1 per hour in hours six through nine, officials said.

That means parking all day on the street will now cost $30.25, up from $21.50 before, compared to the $11 daily rate in parking authority garages, officials said.

The current meter rate is already graduated, increasing from $1.25 an hour to $3.25 the longer a car is parked. Now the top rate will be $6.75 an hour.

Weeknight parking in the garages previously cost $2 after 6 p.m.; weekend parking previously cost $5. The 800-spot Riverfront Garage will now be free all weekend.

Come October, the Hudson-Green Garage at Hudson Avenue and Green Streets, currently closed on weekends, will also be open 24 hours and free all weekend.

For more information on rates and parking availability, visit www.parkalbany.org.

jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com • 518-454-5445 • @JCEvangelist_TU