AIKEN - Aiken business owners will gather at a Parking Advisory Committee meeting Wednesday to push efforts to eliminate the two-hour parking limit downtown.
The committee's regular scheduled meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. The meeting would usually be held in the Aiken Downtown Development Association's office, but the meeting will likely have greater participation Wednesday due to the parking issue, said ADDA Executive Director Clara Cloud.
"There are expected to be a number of people that want to speak out against parking at this time," she said. "There are people on both sides of the issues, but some voices are louder than others."
Mike Enloe, owner of Plum Pudding on Laurens Street, has led the protest against the two-hour parking limit in downtown since last month. He created a Facebook group "End Parking Restrictions in Downtown Now!" that currently has 570 members. He said he also has the support of more than 50 downtown business owners. After hearing the concerns of business owners, the committee will decide whether to present the issue to the ADDA or go directly to city council.
"I saw officers giving out tickets yesterday, and only half the parking spaces were filled. It was sickening," Enloe said. "When you have rows of empty parking spaces, you need to do something to change that."
The enforcement of the parking restrictions began about two years ago, said City Councilman Dick Dewar. The decision was made after a study revealed that 111 parking spaces were filled by employees throughout the day.
In December, city council members unanimously approved lifting the parking restrictions during the holidays to stimulate business.
"We made the adjustments when they wanted the restrictions, but if most of our businesses are not interested in this, we should eliminate it," Dewar said. "I think the sentiment is if we did it to help business over the holidays, wouldn't it make sense to help businesses permanently?"
The meeting will be held in the council chambers at City Hall, 214 Park Ave. SW.
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