Street parking will no longer be free after 5 p.m.

The Common Council approved a measure late this afternoon that doubles the hourly street parking rate from one dollar per hour to two dollars. The paid parking period is also expanding by a total of six hours. Currently, drivers pay for parking at thee meters on many downtown streets from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The new pay period will stretch from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. basically meaning all day.

The new paid parking rules and hours, which will take effect early next month and primarily affect the downtown core and Canalside, will extend to Saturdays as well.

On the turn around, The city says it will be creating more than 700 new spots downtown by turning current no standing zones into paid parking spots. mainly near the key bank center.