Bloomington will start monitoring downtown parking again this Saturday.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city offered the first two hours of metered parking free to help shoppers and downtown businesses.
The city said re-establishing those metered spaces will prompt regular turnover when demand for parking increases next month when Indiana University students return to town.
The city also said it will be designating 54 spaces as 15-minute pick-up and drop-off (PUDO) parking spaces.
This is a new PUDO pilot program where people can park for a short amount of time to pick up food from restaurants or order from stores without paying for parking.
"These changes anticipate the increased activity we'll be seeing downtown in the coming weeks," Mayor John Hamilton said. "By keeping regular parking spaces turning over and allowing folks to park free while picking up food orders, we're trying to make it easy and safe to patronize our downtown businesses as they rebuild."
One or two PUDO sapces will be designated per block and be marked with special signage. Parking enforcement staff will monitor the 15-minute time limit for these spaces.
An interactive map of PUDO spaces is available online.
