Do you frequently park in downtown Savannah? Better start saving that loose change

Parking in downtown Savannah just got more expensive.

According to the Savannah Morning News, a proposal to double parking meter rates — from $1 to $2 an hour — was approved by the Savannah City Council on Thursday for parking spaces located north of Liberty Street.

Free parking on Saturdays has also been eliminated by the approval.

The Morning News reports parking enforcement hours will be extended to 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Parking will remain free on Sundays.

The changes will go into effect in January 2018.

WJCL reports “multi-space, card-accepting meters” will also be installed throughout Savannah, including in the spaces not effected by the rate increase.

The new parking meters can also be paid online through a mobile app expected to launch this summer, according to the Morning News.

City officials told WJCL that the rate increase is not a strategy to bring in more revenue for the city.

Instead, the goal is to “free up more parking spaces on weekends” by discouraging drivers from taking up a single parking space all day, according to WJCL.

Officials also hope the increase will encourage more people to use the new shuttle routes that are expected to be in place before the changes take place, the Morning News reports.

The changes are all part of the Parking Matters project, “a strategic plan for parking and mobility in Savannah,” which is a collaboration between the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission and the City of Savannah, according to the city’s website.

The project also includes plans to build new parking facilities, create a parking lot for city employees and expand bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, according to WJCL.

This story was originally published May 13, 2017 at 11:23 AM with the headline "Do you frequently park in downtown Savannah? Better start saving that loose change."