By Mark Wineka

Salisbury Post

Not wanting to discourage residential living in the downtown, Salisbury City Council has repealed the overnight parking restriction.

Council lifted the early-morning restrictions on parking based on a recommendation from Downtown Salisbury Inc.'s board of directors.

"As we transition into a downtown where people live on upper floors, we feel it is important that those residents have the ability to park on the street where they can have convenient access to their living units," Downtown Salisbury Inc. Executive Director Randy Hemann said in a memo to the city.

Parking had been prohibited on specified downtown streets between 1 and 4 a.m.

A two-hour parking limit will continue to be enforced during regular business hours, but council also changed that time period.

Two-hour parking will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Previously, a section of the city ordinance referred to a two-hour limit between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on some downtown streets.

The only question council members had concerning overnight parking in the downtown was how it would affect street cleaning.

Making the streets clear for nightly street cleaning was the primary reason an overnight parking restriction was in place.

"It is possible to have this parking and still have our streets cleaned," Public Services Director Tony Cinquemani told council.

Mayor Susan Kluttz said if the city is going to encourage residential living downtown, those residents should have a place to park, if off-street parking isn't available.