Cutback in Downtown Champaign Parking Enforcement Proposed

Parking in downtown Champaign would be free starting at seven PM --- that's part of a proposal from city staff that the Champaign City Council will look at during their study session next Tuesday.

City officials increased downtown parking rates and hours a year ago. That included charging for parking until 9 PM. But Deputy City Manager Steve Rost says they're now recommending that the hours be cut back. He says private parking options exist downtown in the evening that don't exist during the day. At the same time, Rost says patrons of restaurants and bars aren't interested in coming back out just to feed more coins in parking meters. Also, Rose says it was hard to explain to the public that the two-hour daytime parking limit doesn't apply at night.

Rost says the city is not recommending a rollback of downtown Champaign parking rates. While stressing that the final decision is up to the city council, Rose says the policy of charging 75 cents an hour in the heart of downtown with lower rates on the periphery is working. But city officials will propose new signage to explain parking policy --- including signs that encourage the use of the new downtown parking deck and surface parking lots for long-term parking. Rost says they also want to install pay-stations along some rows of parking meters --- allowing motorists to pay by debit or credit card.