Saratoga Springs: Free parking 264 days.
Quiet moments in pictures with Sovereignty and Thorpedo Anna
Welcome to the “Lunch Break” email from the editors of Saratoga Dispatch.
In this issue:
Top: Free city parking for the next 264 days
Mid: Kelly’s Angels annual gala next month
Bottom: Quiet moments in pictures with Sovereignty and Thorpedo Anna
Saratoga News
Saratoga Springs celebrates free parking
Drivers park free until Memorial Day weekend, 2026.
By: Stephen Thurston
The City of Saratoga Springs officials turned off the parking meters today in what Saratoga Chamber President Todd Shimkus called “a celebration of free parking” that lasts for 264 days a year.
This was the second year in a row that the city had charged for parking in city-owned garages, on streets and surface parking lots.
“So we are here to celebrate the fact that we are turning off our paid parking meters and a reminder to everybody that loves to come to Saratoga to dine and to shop and to walk around through Congress Park and go to our museums and all of the things that now you can do that without having to pay to park from now until at least Memorial Day,” said Deann Devitt, president of the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association. She also is a commercial loan officer and assistant vice president with Adirondack Trust Company.
Devitt and Shimkus were joined by Commissioner of Public Works Chuck Marshall and Discover Saratoga President Darryl Leggieri.
Marshall said that the city will not hit its projected revenue for the parking of about $465,000, but that it is a workable situation with the revenue over $400,000 and paving budgeted at $250,000.
However, that is only one portion of the parking system.
Payments on loans to build or maintain the structures, salaries for the Public Safety staff who monitor the garages and lots and similar budgets all carve away at the remainder of the money, Marshall said in an interview after the event.
“The revenue will be about [$420,000]. There'll be some administration costs associated with collection and fees, and then again, we'll budget for the improvements through the lots and the garages,” he said at the event.
Some of the revenue was to go toward marketing downtown businesses through the DBA, but that has been modified, the DBA’s Devitt said.
“So we've worked with Chuck [Marshall] to come up with some other really great opportunities for us,” she said, adding that they plan to get fees for downtown events — such as the annual holiday decorating — reduced or eliminated.
The question of paid parking has been a contentious one for the city. Devitt said that she has heard from businesses that they are dealing with it. She, Marshall and Shimkus all said it is still something to track.
“I think people have accepted it a little bit more. And people that come to town expect to pay,” she said.
Shimkus and Marshall both mentioned the smaller businesses that are possibly hurt more by the parking fees. The comparison Shimkus made was that a $1 parking fee for a person stopping to buy a piece of jewelry worth $5,000 is small, but that same fee is a 20% increase for the person who stops to buy just a $5 cup of coffee.
“Think of Saratoga. It's unique. Go anywhere else in the region, the country, almost the world, and you're going to pay for parking,” Shimkus said. “So to have that uniqueness, I think, makes us special. So if there's a way to return to that, that would be incredible.”
The free parking covers city-owned garages, surface lots and streets. The Saratoga Springs Public Library and the Saratoga City Center handle their own parking fees.
Kelly’s Angels 15th Anniversary Gala
Join us October 11th, 2025 to celebrate 15 years of Kelly’s Angels at our “Calling All Angels” Gala at Saratoga Springs City Center! Tickets are on sale now!
It promises to be the party of the season, featuring live music by the Audiostars, full open bar for wine, beer and mixed drinks, dinner by Mazzone Catering, a silent auction featuring thousands of dollars in merchandise and experiences. We will be joined by some very important guests, and we have a few surprises up our sleeves, too!
The date wasn’t picked randomly. October 11th was the birthday of the late Kelly Mulholland, wife of Kelly’s Angels founder Mark Mulholland, for whom Kelly’s Angels is named.
“We are excited to host this party to celebrate all that we have accomplished over the past 15 years, and to celebrate the bright future for our charity,” Mark Mulholland said. “This will be a party you won’t want to miss, with the best local music, food, libations and auction items, all to raise money for Capital District families who can use the help of our all-volunteer charity.”
As with all Kelly’s Angels events, all proceeds from the gala will assist Kelly’s Angels in helping children in New York’s Capital Region who have lost a parent or sibling to cancer or other illness or are battling a life-threatening condition. Tickets are available at kellysangelsinc.org/gala.
Kelly’s Angels “Calling All Angels” Gala
Oct.11, 2025, 6 p.m.
Saratoga Springs City Center, 522 Broadway, Saratoga Springs
Purchase tickets at or www.kellysangelsinc.org
saratoga springs race course
Sovereignty and Thorpedo Anna, as you've never seen 'em
To close out the 2025 meet, some quiet moments with 2 of our season's stars, courtesy of photographer Zach Skowronek.
By: Abby Tegnelia
Thanks to a new friendship forged with a well-placed and kind worker at the track, photographer Zach Skowronek stumbled upon a chance of a lifetime: capturing the great Sovereignty as he relaxed, grazed and showed off his winner’s blanket after winning the Travers, closing out a triumphant spring and summer that included wins at the Kentucky Derby, Belmont and Jim Dandy, too.
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