Cruise Terminal parking under utilized

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The changes to Mardi Gras parking this year has made some people upset.

But, the city said they've made it safer and easier to park for the events.

When the city decided to ban free parking on Water Street some cried greed.

Police said it's a matter of safety.

City officials said charging $10 to park at the cruise terminal just makes sense.

"This year, it's an unfortunate situation that we don't have the cruise ship there currently. So, we've got all this parking available to people; so we thought we'd open it up for Mardi Gras," said Adam Buck, Public Affairs Coordinator for the city of Mobile.

Buck said during the first weekend of Mardi Gras the cruise terminal remained mostly empty.

He said it may take some time for people to use this resource.

"Mobilians have certain parking spaces that they usually like to go to every year, be it a parking lot or space; it's usually a place they go to year in and year out," Buck said.

The cruise terminal parking structure holds 500 cars on four levels.

The Mardi Gras parking fee is $10 per car.

If it fills up the city's general fund could take in $5,000 or more.

The cruise terminal website listed the parking fee at about $17 per day.

Buck said you can always try your luck at parking for free.

"Well, free space is very, very limited so unless you're one of the early risers and come down here, or one of the early birds you're probably not going to get one," Buck said.

Buck said you can arrive later and still find parking at the terminal.

Officials said the city owes $22 million on the cruise terminal, and it pays about $2 million a year for debt service.

City officials said they have budgeted for that payment through 2013. After that, they said they will need to dip into the general fund to pay down the debt unless a new revenue stream is found.