Park for Hope in downtown Santa Cruz

The City of Santa Cruz hosted its second annual Parking for Hope downtown holiday parking program from Dec. 18 through 25. The usual parking rates were applicable; however, the proceeds from street meters during these eight days will be donated to Hope Services, a local nonprofit.
Hope Services provides training and support services to adults with developmental disabilities and has helped to keep downtown streets clean for 20 years. The downtown street parking meters were posted with placards describing Parking for Hope.
This year’s Parking for Hope program continues the pilot program that began last year. The 2014 program was so well received by the public that proceeds exceeded expectations by several thousand dollars. A check for $21,000 was presented to Hope Services in January 2015.
“These funds helped to maintain the crew working full-time keeping our downtown clean. Our crew members greatly value this work and their contributions to our community. It’s a benefit to all of us — it improves the quality of the lives of the individuals working on this project and improves our community overall,” said Santa Cruz Hope Services Manager Sheryl Hagemann.
This year’s program will bring additional funds to Hope Services as Parkmobile fees of 35 cents per transaction were waived for the eight program days.
The City’s Wharf holiday parking program remains the same as last year with the first hour free of charge.
Further City of Santa Cruz parking information is available at www.cityofsantacruz.com/publicworks.