WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — The City of Winston-Salem is considering a new pay rate and a new way of paying for your spot downtown.
The city says the current meters have to go, and the replacement is an app on your smartphone. Under the proposal, all on-street parking spots in downtown would need to be paid for through a mobile app, and it will cost you a dollar more an hour.
“I don’t think this is heading in the right direction for the long term,” said Jan Wharton, who lives in Winston-Salem.
She walks downtown often. If she does need to park, she says she doesn’t mind paying but is concerned it’s not that easy for everyone.
“I think that is just way too much to increase it at one time, and it is just going to continue to hurt the downtown businesses,” Wharton said.
Right now, on-street parking costs 50 cents an hour. That could be bumped up to $1.50. The fines would also increase from $15 to $30.
“We already have a little bit of a disconnect getting people to downtown … The biggest concern for us I think is that people have safe, accessible, easy and affordable parking to get to us,” said Jamie Southern, the executive director at Bookmarks.