Fines for Lexington parking tickets will increase Sept. 1. Find out by how much

Beth Musgrave
·2 min read

Parking fines in Lexington will increase by $10 starting Sept. 1.

Citations will go from $15 to $25. LexPark has not raised parking fines since its inception in 2008. That’s still less than the University of Kentucky. Tickets on campus are $30.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted Thursday night to approve the 2024-25 LexPark budget, which includes the hike in fines for parking citations and a $5 increase for monthly parking passes at two of LexPark’s parking garages — the Helix and the Transit Center.

Daily parking fees at LexPark’s four garages will remain the same. There will be no monthly parking fee increases for Victiorian Square or the Fayette County courthouse garages.

The move comes a little more than a year after LexPark expanded enforcement hours at its meters. The group had originally proposed expanding enforcement to Saturday but after downtown restaurants and business owners complained, the Saturday enforcement was dropped.

Lexington is the only large city in the region with free weekend parking, according to a survey of surrounding cities.

Victorian Square annex garage operated by the Lexpark or the Lexington Parking Authority.
Victorian Square annex garage operated by the Lexpark or the Lexington Parking Authority.

The controversy over the expansion of the enforcement hours reached Frankfort. Kentucky lawmakers passed legislation requiring LexPark to get Lexington council approval before it raised any rates or fines. That’s why the council had to approve LexPark’s budget Thursday. LexPark receives no money from the city.

LexPark officials told the council at an April 30 council work session that the expansion in enforcement hours did not generate enough revenue to offset increasing expenses and lost revenue. Several years ago the University of Kentucky and the city agreed to a land swap. The city got more than 200 acres of UK land off Georgetown Road for a new business park and the city gave UK control of several streets around campus. Those streets had LexPark meters on them, resulting in a loss of about $300,000 per year, LexPark officials said.

LexPark’s four garages are costly to maintain — roughly $1 million a year. Those parking garages will need millions of dollars in upkeep, maintenance and other fixes over the next 10 years.

The bump in fines is expected to generate $209,228. The increase in monthly rates for parking garages would generate $43,457 for a total revenue increase of $252,977, LexPark officials said in April.

The proposed budget for the next fiscal year is $5 million.

The monthly rate increase for the Transit Center and the Helix garage will largely affect the city, whose employees park in those garages, Kentucky Utilities and Gray Construction.

Public parking fines for other cities and government units include:

  • Louisville: $30

  • Cincinnati: $45

  • University of Kentucky: $30

Time expired at the Lexington parking meter near downtown Lexington and the University of Kentucky campus.
Time expired at the Lexington parking meter near downtown Lexington and the University of Kentucky campus.