Joliet moving to free parking downtown this year

People will be able to park for free in downtown Joliet at some point later this year, city officials said Tuesday.

The plan is to end metered parking on the streets and permit two-hour free parking for street spaces. There will continue to be a charge for using the city’s Ottawa Street parking deck.

“Now more than ever, we need to do it,” Joliet City Council member Cesar Cardenas said, pointing to the potential positive effect of switching to free parking at a time when many downtown streets will be under construction.

Construction often is a deterrent to customers. But free parking could be a “game changer” for downtown businesses, Cardenas said.

“I’ve been looking forward to this,” he said. “I have a downtown business. No one’s carrying a pocketful of quarters anymore.”

Cardenas commented on free parking after a meeting at which the City Council approved spending $56,738 for a mobile license plate reader. The device will be used to patrol downtown streets and regulate the two-hour parking limit.

The city wants to put a time limit on free parking to prevent all-day parkers from taking spaces that are close to businesses and convenient for their customers. The mobile license plate reader will allow police to ticket violators without having to rely on meters.

The city parking deck and another on Scott Street that the city sold to private developer John Bays would continue to be available for longer parking.

City Manager Beth Beatty said although the plan is to have two-hour free parking in place this year, city officials cannot yet put a target date on the project.

“We’re still working on our comprehensive plan for downtown parking,” she said.

The key factor, she said, is ensuring that the mobile license plate reader is ready to go so the technology is in place to police the two-hour limit.

Cardenas asked when that would be, and Public Works Director Greg Ruddy said he did not have a date, but it would be “this year.”

The city has been moving toward free parking since a parking consultant made the recommendation last year. In March, the council expanded the consultant’s contract to develop a plan for implementing free parking.