WASHINGTON, Ill. – Parking restrictions in Washington’s square downtown are changing after nearly 25 years.
The City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday night to amend the parking code in the square.
City Planning and Development Director Jon Oliphant tells 25 News the opening of Tangled Roots spurred the changes. He said he knew parking rules might need to be adjusted.
“We knew for a while that there were going to be a lot of people coming to the city that may not have ordinarily come to Washington just to eat there and hopefully shop at the different businesses around the square,” Oliphant said. “We knew there was going to be a peak number of people coming there, therefore an increase in demand for parking.”
The new ordinance eliminates some parking restrictions, including the following:
- Eliminated restricted parking area lots at 104 Zinser Place and 105 N. High St.
- 104 S. High St. and 105 S. High St. are now restricted parking areas.
- Less parking restrictions on the west side of North Main Street from Jefferson Street and Peoria Street to instead between Zinser Place and Peoria Street.
- Eliminated four-hour parking restrictions on Peoria Street from North Main Street to Herbst Lane
The ordinance also repurposed short-term parking spaces in front of businesses, which are listed below:
- The two 15-minute spaces in front of Faire Coffee will align with the current 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. parking hours, Monday through Saturday.
- Added a 15-minute space in front of Ipava State Bank.
- Added a 30-minute space in front of The Bent Penny.
- Added a space on North Main Street in front of Maloof Realty/the former Foster Jewelry building.
“We have three different fifteen-minute parking spaces now and two thirty-minute spaces,” Oliphant said. “We actually had a total of nine of those previously, prior to the code amendment, and now we have five total of those.”
Oliphant said the city talked with business owners on the square to make sure the amended rules would work for them.
The rules went into effect immediately, and updated parking signs will be put up soon.
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