The city of Mandan reminds downtown business operators, employees and residents that more parking changes are coming in 2010. Effective Jan. 1, parking fines will increase from $5 to $10. Enforcement of 90-minute restricted areas also will increase by late January to early February of 2010.

A courtesy ticket has been created for those who don’t have a previous violation who park overtime in a time-restricted area. The intent of the courtesy ticket is to avoid offending shoppers and visitors, while providing guidance on where to park in the future for extended stays.

The overall goal is to assure convenient parking is available on the street and adjacent to businesses for customers. The increased parking fines and enforcement dissuade longer duration users from parking in these areas, encouraging instead their use of designated lots and low demand areas.

All spaces in city lots on the south side of Main Street were made available free of charge beginning in October. Most of these spaces do not have time restrictions other than overnight limitations on alternating days of the week. A few spaces next to businesses continue with a 90-minute time limit to serve customers. The other major change was to modify boundaries for 90-minute, on-street restrictions. Signs were removed in low density areas.

A new brochure with a map of showing various types of parking in downtown Mandan is being distributed to area businesses and is posted online at cityofmandan.com.

Changes to downtown parking arrangements stem from recommendations received through a parking study conducted in 2009 by Rich and Associates. These recommendations and changes have been approved by the Parking Authority, which consists of five downtown business operators.

To share ideas or concerns with the Parking Authority, call 667-3455. The next meeting is tentatively planned for February to evaluate changes.