Saturdays removed off parking enforcement in downtown Fayetteville

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Locals are breathing a sigh of relief thanks to a minor tweak to the upcoming parking enforcement in downtown Fayetteville.

On July 15, the city will begin enforcing on- and off-street parking from Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. This will include handing out citations to those who do not comply.

However, the city council chose to remove Saturday from that list after getting plenty of backlash.

For Diane Parfitt, owner of City Center Gallery and Books, this minor adjustment will make a world of difference for her 16-year business.

"We do get some of our best traffic on Saturdays, as do all of the businesses downtown," said Parfitt.

With the addition of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers and other major events, the city hopes this enforcement will deter event-goers from using free spots that belong to businesses.

Parfitt and other locals say this upcoming method may also have the same effect on residents looking to enjoy the downtown scene.

"That's a real turn-off to people to have the parking monitored and tickets given out," Parfitt said.

Because of the outcry, Mayor Mitch Colvin met with city council to postpone weekend enforcement and further discuss it in August.

"Move to make the adjustments we need to make to make sure we take the businesses point of view into consideration, as well as the other demands that are presented," Colvin said.

Though Parfitt understands something must be done to make parking available, she and other downtown business owners believe more revisions to the incoming rules should be made.

"Two-hour parking till nine o' clock. That is going to cut off a lot of people that would do the dinner and movie," Parfitt said.

The city said it does not intend to add paid on-street parking in the downtown area until at least January.

For more details on the upcoming parking enforcement, you can go to the city's website.