Parking downtown could become more expensive if the city commission approves city staff’s recommendation next Tuesday to increase meter prices, fines and enforcement hours.

Proposed changes include increasing meter enforcement to end at 6 p.m. instead of 5 p.m., increasing parking tickets to $3 with a $12 late fee and increasing the cost to park.

City staff also recommended that 20 new 15-minute meters be added at the middle and north end of each block along downtown Massachusetts Street. Time limits for meters located along Massachusetts Street would decrease from 2 hours to 1.5 hours.

The recommendations also include doubling the price of the 1.5 hour meters compared to the original 2 hour meters. A quarter used to buy an hour of parking on Massachusetts Street, but with the new meters a quarter would last 30 minutes.

City staff estimated these recommendations would generate $321,151 in additional revenue for the city.

Michael Spero, Shawnee senior, said he parked on Massachusetts Street for everything from going to his barber to going out to bars. Spero said the main thing that bothered him about the proposal was increasing patrol hours to 6 p.m.

“I think it would be a pain, though, right now to extend the hours to 6,” Spero said. “I like where it’s at, at 5 o’clock.”

Spero said another issue was reducing the maximum time on meters from 2 hours to 1.5 hours because he needed more time downtown.

Audrey Stewart, Lenexa junior, said she liked to use Massachusetts Street to eat, but had had trouble in the past finding parking downtown. Stewart said she was not happy with the proposed changes.

“Part of the reason I like going downtown is it’s cheap,” Stewart said. “And it goes off at five, so if I want to go down and hang out after five, it’s nice.”

Steward said she would still park on Massachusetts Street even if she had to scrounge up some more change. She said she thought it would be a good idea to put change machines downtown near meters.

Dave Corliss, city manager, said the fee increases were needed because parking fund revenues were stagnating and because providing more service required more funds.

Corliss said the money would stay in the parking fund and the additional revenue would be used for personnel, maintenance and beautification for downtown. He said that because costs were growing, other funds had been used to pay for projects downtown, including the repair of Massachusetts Street.

“We want to try and reduce that,” Corliss said.

Bryan Wright, Wichita senior, said that if the city used the money as planned, he didn’t see any problem with the proposal.

“The costs already are pretty cheap,” Wright said. “If you take care of your meter you won’t have those issues with the higher fees. As long as they use the money right, it’s fine by me.”

Corliss said staff consulted Downtown Lawrence Inc., a group of local shop owners, about the best way to proceed with fee increases.

Dan Hughes, president of DLI, said that the organization never would have suggested fee increases downtown, but that the city would increase fees and fines no matter what. He said the main concern with increasing these fees was balancing the turnover of parking spots for other customers while maintaining fines and fees that didn’t deter customers from coming downtown.

“I’m sure you know people who have gotten a ticket downtown,” Hughes said. “Their first reaction is usually an expletive and ‘I got a ticket,’ and then they find out it’s two bucks and then they’re like ‘This is laughable.’”

Hughes said the recommended fee increases addressed some of the parking issues downtown.

“It’s harder to find a parking spot at night than it is during the day,” Hughes said. “Moving the meter times back a little bit addresses when people are really parking downtown.”

Hughes said the increase in fines would help in keeping those employed along Massachusetts from using meters spots as personal parking. The 15-minute meters would also assist in getting more customers downtown, Hughes said.

In return for these fee increases, Hughes said, DLI asked that the money be reinvested downtown with more foot patrol and beautification efforts.

Hughes said the recommendations city staff approved were effective without being overbearing.

“I think it’s the best compromise we were going to get,” Hughes said. “They just need money.”

Spero said that collecting the money for parking patrol and beautification was acceptable, but that he wondered how much would be done to clean up downtown. He said that if he were to improve the downtown environment, he would bring in more activities such as concerts. He also suggested a pep-rally for students at the beginning of the school year.

Chad Davis, Olathe sophomore, said he liked going downtown and considered it to be clean and safe.

“I guess there’s some rugged parts of Lawrence, but usually Mass and downtown wherever you go looks really, really nice,” Davis said.

Corliss said that if the recommendations were approved by the commission, the best time to implement the changes would be in August or September, but that a date had yet to be set.

— — Edited by Adam Schoof