Here’s how much more you’ll be paying to park in downtown Savannah

When it comes to parking in downtown Savannah, there’s good news and bad news for drivers.

The good: Time limits on parking meters have been eliminated.

The bad: The parking spots closest to the heart of historic downtown now cost more, and parking is no longer free on Saturdays.

The area from Oglethorpe Avenue to the river and bordered on each side by Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Habersham Street is considered “Zone 1” with parking at $2 per hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, according to Savannah’s Parking Matters website.

Included in this area are the Jepson Center for the Arts, City Market, landmark eateries like Leopold’s Ice Cream and The Olde Pink House, among others, and numerous shops.

The zone around this core area is considered “Zone 2,” and parking there will cost drivers $1 per hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Rates for parking garages have not changed, according to Parking Matters.

The city debuted a new app that is meant to help drivers pay for parking without coins and extend the time on their parking meters via cellphone. ParkSavannah is available from the App Store or Google Play. You can also sign up at parksav.net. The app will not help direct drivers to empty parking spots.

Drivers are not being ticketed right away, according to Parking Matters.

Officers are giving drivers reminders and alerts to let them know about the new rules. Warnings have been handed out since Jan. 22, and tickets will start being issued Jan. 29, according to Parking Matters.

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 10:27 AM with the headline "Here’s how much more you’ll be paying to park in downtown Savannah."