The town of Bar Harbor netted more than three times the revenue it had expected from a new seasonal parking program.
Town manager Cornell Knight says new parking meters installed in the community's downtown and kiosks on town-owned parking lots brought in over $1.5 million. Knight says the system was put in place after a consultant's study five years ago found that there was a seasonal parking shortage of 79 spaces which would increase by 2 percent a year.
“We needed to have a program that would turn spaces over,” says Knight.
Knight says parking permits are available for employees and residents so they can park on side streets.
He says state law mandates that the revenue be used for parking related issues or maintenance of town ways.