Delaware
Free parking coming to Newark this summer
Newark authorities frown on redhead run as Blue Hens go green in growing St. Patrick’s Day tradition
University of Delaware students by the thousands crowded onto Choate Street off Main for the ‘Ginger Run’ Saturday as Newark police tried to stop the impromptu dash of redheads. The new tradition is taking off. The city slowed but couldn’t stop the 2025 race.
Newark wants to keep people coming back to its downtown while the Blue Hens are on summer break.
The city will offer free parking on weekends from June 16 through Aug. 15. Mayor Travis McDermott said it applies to all off- and on-street parking, including municipal lots. It’s a way to keep people coming back to Newark’s Main Street and other business areas.
The city has experimented with free parking on offseason weekends in the recent past. During the holiday season, the city offered free parking on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays from Dec. 16, 2024, to Jan. 21, 2025. That was during the University of Delaware’s long winter semester when fewer students are on campus.