SALISBURY — In 2022, the Salisbury City Council approved the Downtown Parking Pilot Program in order to “address the need for varied parking options in downtown.”

“We don’t want people who live and work downtown parking on Main Street. We want people utilizing our surface parking lots and our off-street parking, so that Main Street parking is left for customers and visitors who are patronizing our businesses and restaurants,” Downtown Development Director Sada Troutman said. 

At the Feb. 20 meeting, the city council decided to renew the program for the current year beginning on March 1 and ending on Feb. 28, 2025.

Thirty spaces located at the city office, Wells Fargo, and central city parking lots were initially part of the program. Two of the lots were completely leased out in less than six minutes and were used “consistently” throughout 2023. There was only one reported incident where a property owner was contacted when construction vehicles parked in spaces without a permit. 

Fifteen parking spaces were leased at a cost of $35 a month which gave the city $6,300 in revenue.   

For this year, the downtown development department will still be the ones in charge of dealing with permits and applications. The program is going to be on a “first come, first served” basis, anyone interested in applying for a spot needs a proof of downtown residency, property ownership, or employment to qualify. The permit will designate someone to a specific parking lot, not a specific space. Permits and lots are each assigned a different color. 

Troutman proposed a change to the program for 2024. Instead of 30 spaces covering three lots, there will be 20 spaces available in two lots; 15 spaces at the West Fisher Street lot and five at the central city lot behind Barnhardt Jewelers. Troutman said no one “took advantage” of the city office lot considering its distance from Main Street.

Troutman said Police Chief Patrick “P.J.” Smith is in the “final stages” of hiring a downtown liaison, who will be in charge of imposing the program.

“The training process over the next month will include use of the parking enforcement vehicle and new software that will more effectively and efficiently track parking violations and repeat offenders,” Troutman said.

According to Troutman, collecting parking fines has been challenging because of a lack of resources. The finance and police departments have been collaborating on a new way to gather past due fines that will be presented to the council in “the coming months.” Parking tickets are $15 and they increase with repeat offenses.

The first day to submit a parking program application is Feb. 27.