New rules will soon be in effect on Cleveland streets that may change your parking habits. And brace yourself Browns fans changes include a potential hefty increase to park at the Muni Lot to tailgate before the games.

On Monday, Cleveland City Council approved legislation sought by the Bibb administration to increase the rates to park at city-owned parking garages and lots, plus parking meters.

Beyond the Muni lot

• At the North Coast Municipal Parking Lot (Muni Lot), the daily rate goes from $5 to $10. The special event parking cost for Browns games will go from $30 to up to $70.
• Parking meter enforcement will cease downtown between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. It will cost you to park on the street for an extra four hours in the evening. The legislation would give the city’s director of public works power to set parking regulations for days of the week and hours of the day, potentially charging drivers to park on the weekends.
• Parking will be free downtown on the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), Christmas Day, and the day after Christmas.
• Hourly rates to park at the Willard Park Garage on Lakeside Avenue will increase from $3.25 to up to $5. The daily maximum rate will increase to $20. Special events will balloon from $30 to up to $60.

New rates for West side market and the Flats

• The daily rate at the Canal Basin Lot in the Flats would increase from $3 to up to $10. Special events, weeknights, and weekends at the lot will increase from $10 to up to $60. 
• The West Side Market will reduce the amount of free parking time during market hours from 90 minutes to 60 minutes. 
• The Director of Public Works “is authorized to charge and cause to be collected the payment required in parking meter zones such charges and fees ranging from one dollar ($1.00) to eight dollars ($8.00) per hour and is further authorized to establish regulations that set forth the days of the week, hours of the day, and intervals of time for which parking is permissible.”

“We tried to make it affordable”

The new legislation will take effect ten days after Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb signs it into law. 

The Browns play at home on Sunday, October 1 against the Ravens and October 15 against the 49ers.

Cleveland City Councilman Kevin Bishop said there has not been a parking rate increase in the city for several years. City leaders studied other large cities in Ohio and mimicked their parking rate structures.

“In our parking division, our expenditures have been outpacing our revenues,” Bishop told 3News’ Bri Buckley on Monday. “In order to keep our parking facilities viable, we have to have a rate increase to take care of our parking facilities because we’ve got to spend a lot of money on improvements and upgrades.”

Bishop adds that council did “a lot of back and forth” with the Bibb administration to keep the increase “modest.” 

“We tried to make it affordable,” he said. “We didn’t want to price the common Clevelander out of downtown.”

Watch WKYC’s coverage here.