Columbia to start enforcing parking meters again. But you won’t get a ticket just yet
Columbia will resume enforcing parking meters on city streets starting Monday. But that doesn’t mean you’ll be getting a ticket.
For the first few weeks of parking enforcement since the coronavirus outbreak struck, attendants will only issue warnings to people parked in metered spaces on the street, hoping to nudge people back into the habit of feeding the meter.
Only on June 1 will Columbia begin issuing tickets for motorists who haven’t paid. Gates will also be lowered on city parking garages that day. Officers will begin issuing tickets again for any unpaid parking between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
But until the end of June, the city will continue to offer bagged parking meters in some locations to help out local restaurants offering diners a pickup option. Before police suspended enforcement across the city, dining areas on Main Street, Devine Street, in Five Points and the Vista all got reserved parking spaces to encourage quick parking to pick up takeout orders.
Those bags will be removed July 1, returning the city to its normal, pre-COVID-19 policy, the city said in a press release on Friday.
Columbia suspended enforcement of the city’s parking meters March 23, shortly after restaurants and bars were required to close their indoor dining facilities due to the coronavirus outbreak.
On May 8, Assistant City Manager Missy Gentry told a city task force that parking services have continued counting the number of cars they see around town and in city garages, to measure when parking enforcement should resume.
“We’ve certainly seen an uptick in the number of cars parking on the street and even in our garages,” she said. “We believe that’s from employees of businesses that are reopening.
“We’re not issuing citations, but we want convenient spaces to be open for patrons,” Gentry said.
Since then, restaurants have reopened for indoor dining as well as outdoor seating, and on Monday “close contact” businesses such as barber shops and gyms will also be permitted to reopen, likely increasing the number of drivers who will be heading out around town.
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 10:25 AM.
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