Officials reject Sunday fee expansion while raising to $6/hour in premium spots and in many lots.

Carrie Jones

Jul 22, 2026

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Maine Seacoast Mission.

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BAR HARBOR—Bar Harbor residents will have two free hours of paid parking in downtown each week via a “coupon” policy run through the town’s parking kiosks and app.

The proposal was introduced in the beginning of July and approved at the Town Council’s July 21 with one tweak and one expressed concern.

Originally, to make up for the lost revenue created by allowing two free hours of parking downtown, the proposal had called for extending paid parking hours on Sunday mornings.

That change did not go through.

Vice Chair Earl Brechlin led the unanimous charge to keep those Sunday parking hours free for everyone when downtown.

The parking revenue for the last fiscal year brought in $4.3 million net of fees. This is more than double that of FY2022-2023.

The town is not sure exactly how much parking revenue would be taken away now that it gives residents those two hours of free in-town parking each week, but they’ve estimated it would be a maximum of $832,000 to cover the loss of revenue needed to create a residential parking program.

The new policy also dedicates “one dollar of each hourly premium paid parking fee collected” into the Parking Solutions Capital Improvement Program revenue account.

That money will be appropriated by the Town Council “for future public parking facilities, parking infrastructure, transportation improvements, and other parking-related capital projects” according to the council order.

To cover those costs so that the town budget isn’t increased, but also to try to encourage parking turnover in spots, the town raised some parking fees to premium paid parking spaces in town and incorporated a few other changes for the town of roughly 5,000 year-round residents that supports Acadia National Park and its 4 million annual visits.

Paid parking on multiple streets in town as well as town-owned lots would be $6 an hour rather than $4. Other kiosk areas would be $2 an hour. The change in premium parking rates begins August 4, 2026.

“The Town Council finds that increasing the premium paid parking rate from $4.00 to $6.00 per hour will better manage parking demand, support the long-term sustainability of the Enhanced Residential Parking Program, and establish a Parking Solutions Capital Improvement Program revenue account for future parking and transportation improvements,” the order reads.

Employee parking permits ($30) are available only to those working at downtown businesses.

Overnight parking in the ferry terminal site would increase from $12 a night to $20.

Paid parking is proposed to begin earlier in the season—on May 1, rather than May 15.

“By reinvesting parking revenues into parking facilities, pedestrian infrastructure, bicycle accommodation, traffic management improvements, and other transportation initiatives, the Town can ensure that future infrastructure decisions improve overall mobility while preserving or expanding public parking opportunities,” Town Manager James Smith wrote in the July 2 memo.

During the July 21 meeting, Chair Maya Caines expressed concern for employees of Bar Harbor businesses who don’t work in the downtown area. Also during the meeting, a member of the public asked for consideration for employees for businesses that don’t have a physical office location but do business downtown.

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LINKS TO LEARN MORE

Meeting agenda and packet.

Watch the meeting here.

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