West Columbia begins to add parking near riverfront

West Columbia is starting to add new parking areas to ease congestion around restaurants near its riverfront.

City Council approved the purchase Tuesday of nearly three-fourths of an acre in the 400 blocks of Meeting and Center streets a few blocks west of the Congaree River.

The site will provide parking for an estimated 100 vehicles initially for those headed both to dining on State Street and recreation on the nearby Riverwalk, officials said.

Plans also call for an landscaped path on the parcel.

The site is where City Hall was located in the early 1900s, officials said.

The $675,000 acquisition of the site is the first of what could be a series of parcel purchases in coming months to increase parking in the area, City Administrator Brian Carter said.