The Waterloo City Council has decided to shrink the parking meter enforcement area downtown, according to the Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier. Parking meters will now only be found inside the area between Washington and Franklin streets and between Park Avenue and Sixth Street. The change comes after a parking study earlier this year determined that Waterloo has an abundance of parking that goes unused. In addition to the smaller enforcement zone, hundreds of parking meters will also be replaced by 21 parking kiosks. The study also suggested that the City raise their parking rates but allow free parking for an amount of time before the fees start. The recommendation was for the first 90 minutes to be free and a cost of $1 per hour after that. This would be enforced from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays, parking would be free on the weekends. The City Council has not made a determination on any change to the parking rate to this point.
