City Council will vote on an ordinance next week that would cut down the time drivers could park for free by the Downtown Mall.
The city now allows drivers to park in some spaces near the mall for free for two hours at a time.
These spaces are intended for visitors and Downtown Mall patrons, but according to some Council members, workers in the area are abusing the system.
"There is a long-standing practice that employees have used called the 'two-hour shuffle,'" Councilor Meredith Richards said.
The "two-hour shuffle" consists of a worker moving his car every two hours from one space to another free space in the city, Richards said. These workers obtain free parking for the whole day.
She said some workers choose to park in spaces at the Downtown Mall all day and, if caught, are fined $5 - a fine she said is too small to act as a deterrent.
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Parking at the mall has been a major problem for businesses, as some workers feel potential consumers have been turned away by the lack of available spaces, Richards said.
"When workers use precious free spaces it hurts downtown businesses," she said.
Mayor Blake Caravati said City Council has been dealing with the issue for the past 10 years. City officials recently decided to hire the consulting firm Rich and Associates, Inc., which specializes in dealing with parking services, to assess the city's situation.
In its report, the Parking Master Plan, the firm recommended to Council that the city lower the amount of time drivers can park in a free space from two hours to one hour. It also suggested that Council double parking fines from $5 to $10.
Richards said she feels lowering the time to one hour would end up doing more harm than good, as many shoppers need more than an hour to shop at the Downtown Mall.
Caravati said the general consensus on Council now is to only lower the free parking time to one and one-half hours.
The city also plans to build more parking decks in the West Main St. area to deal with parking problems and to encourage growth in public transportation, Richards said.
Recent changes include 200 new spaces in the Water St. garage and a shuttle system that transports workers who park in lots outside the Downtown Mall.
Council plans to discuss the ordinances to lower the parking time from two to one and half hours and doubling parking fines at next Monday's meeting.
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