Parking hours extended
The City Council last week moved to extend metered parking throughout the city from two to three hours maximum and to open up the civic center lot to merchant parking. Both tweaks to the city’s parking are intended to better serve downtown businesses.
The proposal came from the city traffic engineer Eric Zandvliet and will extend metered parking after 6 p.m.
“This will be seven days a week, and that would help provide a little more time for a person or people who are arriving and enjoying our downtown to do some business or go to dinner and not have to worry about the parking meter,” Zandvliet told council. “So after 6 p.m., the meters expire at 9 p.m., if you arrive any time from 6 p.m. or later, you wouldn’t have to go back to your car, you wouldn’t have to move the car as well.”
Zandvliet said the city issues 700 merchant annual parking permits and another 70 or 80 monthly permits for only 270 spaces, mainly at the Metlox Plaza and city lots 1 and 2. The lower level of the Civic Center parking structure will be made available for merchant parking overflow after 3 p.m. Monday through Thursday, every other Friday, and weekends.
