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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Western edge of downtown Spokane to get longer meter limits

A three-block area on the western edge of downtown Spokane will offer longer parking meter hours as part of a pilot project the city hopes will improve meter use.

At the request of local businesses, the city plans within the week to change the time limits at meters on Jefferson Street from Railroad Alley to Second Avenue, and along Second from Adams to Madison streets. Two-hour meters along Jefferson will be changed to four-hour or all-day meters, and the southern portions of Second will go from a two-hour limit to all-day.

A 10-minute loading zone near the southwest corner of Jefferson and Second will remain under the new configuration. Two-hour parking will remain on the north side of Second.

Use of the meters on those blocks hovered between 10 and 13 percent, according to the city. Spokane’s downtown parking plan calls for 85 percent occupancy to be considered efficient.

An update of the downtown Spokane parking plan is expected to be completed by the end of this year. In July, parking enforcement agents began tougher patrols using license-plate reading technology.

Local business response to the proposed parking changes has been “overwhelmingly positive,” said Julie Happy, a city spokeswoman. The changes will be reviewed after a few months to decide if the configuration will become permanent.