Portsmouth, New Hampshire is one of the biggest tourist spots on the Seacoast. From great shopping at Macro Polo,  to a nice cup of coffee at Breaking New Grounds, Portsmouth is a great place for everyone, except for those looking to park. From not enough spaces ,to barely any parking at all, this problem has been on the rise, as has the cost of the parking meters.

Kimberly DiPerre, a Portsmouth resident who works in Downtown Portsmouth, weiged in on how the parking has affected the people who work in downtown Portsmouth. “It is hard enough trying to park downtown with everyone who works down there, let alone at 2:30 coming back from a lunch break trying to find a spot with all the people downtown.” She said, “I usually end up parking in the garage and end up having to walk from there.”

Bryan Rogers, a teacher at Portsmouth High School, said “when I go downtown and there’s nowhere to park, I end up parking at the bank (Citizens Bank) and walking in, or sometimes at the middle school (Portsmouth Middle School).”

In the winter, the city is not as busy because some of the restaurants are seasonal. For example, the Old Ferry Landing and other tourist spots like Prescott Park or Strawberry Banke, are better for visiting in the spring and summer so there are not as many tourists. In the spring and summer, the amount of tourists goes up and the amount of parking goes down.

The City of Portsmouth has decided on the addition of another parking garage at the site where Gary’s Beverages used to be. This will cost more money for the city, which is resulting in a rise in the parking meter price. When asked, the city had no one available for comment.