Bellingham seeks to raise parking fees and add paid parking to a new part of town

Bellingham is considering changes to the hours for street parking downtown — doubling the hourly price, increasing the price of tickets and adding pay stations in the Fairhaven shopping district. Hourly parking fees would rise from 75 cents an hour to $1.50 an hour, according to information about the proposal at the Engage Bellingham website that the city uses for public comment. Current paid parking hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and the proposed new hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.