Bowling Green residents should expect major changes to parking services downtown. City council is planning to expand the use of parking kiosks around the city of Bowling Green as early as January 2020.
In the Bowling Green City Council meeting on Nov. 4, city council members decided to make a few key parking changes. Earlier this year, city council approved an increase in parking prices, but the meeting was a formality to re-institute the changes that were incorrectly followed, along with a few upcoming changes.
City council voted to expand the use of parking kiosks to all city lots and doubled the price per hour from 25 cents to 50 cents, along with an extension of the maximum time limit from two hours to three hours and no charge for handicapped parking.
This amendment officially allows city Municipal Administrator, Lori Tretter, to enter into a parking contract for new kiosks.
“We’re going to have kiosks in all the city municipal lots, hopefully in early January. We’re being told it’s much more user friendly, and you can download an app, register your information, and tell the app how long you want to stay. You do not even have to use the kiosk,” President of city council, Mike Aspacher said.
City Council also discussed previous meetings where kiosk funding was slowed. At these previous meetings, the council approved a $59,106 funding for new kiosks in the city.
Expansion of the kiosks is coming soon after a parking holiday, which took place over the summer in Bowling Green. Parking holidays meant free parking downtown, which local businesses disliked. They prefer a “high turnover” Aspacher said, and “the parking holiday cost the city around $50,000 in parking revenue,” as constant construction is hindering business.
Councilwoman Sandy Rowland said, “I do believe we’re going to have a financial struggle if we do it again,” referring to extending or reimplementing a parking holiday.”
Aspacher referred to the downtown construction as a “one-in-a-generation project” that would not be done again in the city of Bowling Green for another 50 years.
Recent downtown road construction will be finished in time for the upcoming holiday parade and the “Not in our Town” march, which lobbyists presented flyers for.
Over 94 floats have pre-registered, almost extending the two-hour time block allotted for local television broadcasts. This year’s parade kicks off at 9:45 a.m. on Nov. 23.
