City council considers revamping downtown parking enforcement

Changes could soon be coming in the way the city’s downtown parking ordinances are enforced.

Monday night, Rock Hill City Council unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance to revamp how parking offenders are tracked, equipping the parking enforcement officer with a handheld computer to electronically track visitors who park in time-limited spaces downtown.

Downtown development manager David Lawrence says that parking is a critical component of the city’s downtown corridor and means dollars and cents to businesses both large and small.

As it stands now, parking regulations are enforced with a simple chalk line on the rear tire of vehicles who park downtown.

Lawrence said the new system would improve customer service by giving the officer the leeway to issue a warning versus a ticket.

Under the plan presented Monday night, new ticket structures would go into effect later this year, starting at 5 dollars and escalating up to 60 dollars.

The administration and collection of parking files would move from the city’s finance department to the Municipal Court.