Take your time: Old Town parkers get an extra hour along Calhoun Street
Visitors to Old Town Bluffton's Calhoun Street won't have to rush through a meal or a visit to an art gallery to avoid a parking ticket.
A month after Bluffton officials limited free parking along Calhoun Street to two hours, the town decided this week to make it three.
Brynn Madden, who was strolling through Old Town Thursday, said expanding the parking limits is a good idea.
"I don't usually take (three hours) to eat," she said. "But it's nice to know that I can take my time if I wanted to."
Town council voted in November to restrict parking along the busy Old Town thoroughfare from May River Road to Bridge Street to two hours between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. No-parking zones were also created along short stretches of Church, Lawton and Lawrence streets around Dubois Park.
That meant employees of nearby businesses would no longer be able to occupy prime spaces on Calhoun Street all day, creating turnover in the spaces.
The decision to bump the time to three hours was made based on "feedback from the Old Town Merchant's Society ... and from some Calhoun Street businesses," according to a recent memo from growth management director Kendra Lelie.
Mayor Lisa Sulka said town officials "were asked to go and talk to the businesses face to face."
Staff spoke with 16 Calhoun Street business owners and "the overwhelming majority agreed" that it would be wise to up the limit to three hours, according to a town report.
The loosened restrictions "will encourage greater commerce (in) Old Town... (and) give patrons the opportunity to have an extended experience dining and shopping without the need to move a vehicle," the report says.
Sulka said she thinks the change "appeased the businesses some."
"Everyone seems very happy with it now," she said.
There was across the board support from town council members, who earlier this week unanimously approved the new hours with no discussion.
The restrictions on Church, Lawton and Lawrence streets are unchanged.
While the new parking regulations are now part of city code, they are not yet being enforced.
Residents of Calhoun Street will not be subject to the restrictions, so the town must work out a parking sticker program with the neighbors.
The town must also purchase and install signage to inform drivers about the new rules before enforcement can start.
That is expected to happen within the next several months.
When the signs are installed, violators of the rules will be subject to a small fine. The exact amount is yet to be determined.
Follow reporter Lucas High at twitter.com/IPBG_Lucas.
Related content:
- Calhoun Street parking limits may be coming, Oct. 24, 2015
- Bluffton council bans smoking in Dubois Park, restricts parking on Calhoun Street, Nov. 10, 2015
This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 8:04 PM with the headline "Take your time: Old Town parkers get an extra hour along Calhoun Street."