If you work in downtown Franklin, you’ll need to start taking note of where you park.
In an effort to keep people from parking in storefront spots for an extended period of time — such as an entire work day — Franklin will begin enforcing a two-hour parking limit along certain streets later this summer.
The goal is to keep parking spots available in front of downtown businesses, such as Franklin Pharmacy and other shops and restaurants that rely on traffic. At the same time, city leaders don’t want to discourage people from parking their vehicle for several hours while they eat or shop downtown.
For starters, the city will enforce the two-hour parking limit on East and West Court streets, the southside of Monroe Street from Jackson to Water streets, and the west side of Water Street, from Jefferson to Monroe streets.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Weekends are excluded from the new rules.
Mayor Steve Barnett said he wants the city to strike a balance between accommodating shoppers and guests downtown by having ample parking, while not making motorists be overly concerned about where they’ve parked and how long they’ve been away. Ideally, a person having lunch then going to a downtown hair salon for an appointment should not be ticketed, he said.
At Barnett’s request, a police officer assigned to work downtown full-time will be in charge of enforcing the parking rules, as well as keeping semis out of downtown and getting to know business owners as part of community policing. That officer should be in place by August, police Chief Tim O’Sullivan said.
The city has had local rules that limit parking time in the downtown area for a long time, but they have only been enforced sporadically, O’Sullivan said.
But in recent years, businesses have made it clear that they want more parking available nearby, he said.
Barnett wants to begin enforcement at the end of July by allowing motorists a grace period with warnings while they get used to the new rules, before the officer begins writing tickets.
Once tickets are written, the fine is $25.
“We don’t want a sudden iron fist,” Barnett said. “We want people to come downtown.”
He sees the downtown streets as owned by the taxpayers, and wants the parking spots open to be used by taxpayers who are supporting downtown businesses, rather than all the spots used by government workers who will park in the same spot for eight hours a day, five days a week.
“We need to be looking at it that way,” Barnett said.
Barnett is also considering this an experiment, and is open to adding other streets to the restrictions or making other changes if needed. For example, the most previous parking restrictions applied to many more streets, but was not actively enforced. In the future, time limits could be enforced on Jefferson Street, if businesses ask for help.
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Parking limits
By early August, Franklin will enforce a two-hour parking limit in some areas downtown.
Streets: East and West Court streets, the south side of Monroe Street from Jackson to Water streets, and the west side of Water Street, from Jefferson to Monroe streets.
Fine: After a grace period, the police department will issue $25 tickets.
[sc:pullout-text-end]
