Paid parking coming to parts of Old Towne Orange. Here’s what to know

ORANGE, Calif. () — Changes are coming to the city of Orange, and visitors to the historic area will soon have to pay to park.

The city says the program has been in the works for years and the idea came from a consultant. The consultant found that there was not enough parking turnover within the central part of Old Towne, so they suggested implementing a paid parking program to help.

Infrastructure for the program is in place. Covered kiosks and signs are staged around Plaza Square Park. The paid program starts on Feb. 9.

Costs will range from $1.25 to $2 per hour, and there will be specific time limits up to three hours depending on where you park.

City officials say there will still be plenty of free parking in the area.

“There are more than a thousand free parking spaces still available in the plaza area, specifically our Lemon Street parking structure, which has more than 600 spaces that will remain free,” said Laura Lombardo with the city of Orange.

Residents in the area can apply for a residential parking permit so they can park for free. Employees and business owners are not exempt.

Residents have mixed feelings.

“They need to manage their money better. Quit trying to pass taxes on. It’s a tax,” said Rick Collins of Orange.

“I really don’t care,” said David Doherty of Orange.

Tim Mahshi is the owner of Baba G in Old Towne. His family has owned the restaurant for 37 years.

“I was six months old when my family purchased this place,” Mahshi said.

He has seen a lot of change in the area during that time.

“They actually had paid parking way back in the day, like the early days, and that didn’t work so that’s why they got rid of them,” Mahshi said.
Which is why he was surprised to learn that the city is bringing paid parking back.

“Just doesn’t make sense to me and a lot of the people around here,” Mahshi said.

He believes enforcing a two-hour parking limit or adding additional parking would be better solutions. He said he’s heard customer concerns about parking being a challenge, and he fears having to pay for it will only make that problem worse.

“I understand what the city is trying to do, and it’s cool that they’re at least trying something,” Mahshi said. “I just don’t know if that’s exactly the right way to go about it.”