Two years after spending, it seemed, most of 2012 making changes to Platteville parking regulations, the Common Council made a change to city parking regulations Sept. 9.

The council voted 4–3 to extend, by one hour, the current two-hour-parking stalls on downtown streets, including:
•    Main Street between Elm Street and Oak Street.
•    South Chestnut Street between Main Street and Pine Street.
•    Court Street between Irving Place and Pine Street.
•    Irving Place between Park Place and Bonson Street.
•    Bonson Street between Irving Place and Pine Street.
•    Oak Street, Second Street, Third Street and Fourth Street between Mineral Street and Pine Street.
•    East Mineral Street between Oak Street and Third Street.

At-large Ald. Dick Bonin was one of the three who voted against, saying, “We were getting screamed at for not enough parking downtown,” and that the “same businesses that were asking for three hours” were asking for two-hour parking in 2012. “We’re going to be back to square one in six months.”

“It is difficult to flip-flop on parking like that,” said at-large Ald. Amy Seeboth-Wilson, who also voted against, as did District 3 Ald. Barb Daus.

“They don’t have enough time in a two-hour time frame,” said at-large Ald. Mike Denn. “If you get a beauty salon procedure, it’s not going to take two hours.”

“If we’re going to get people downtown, we need those three hours,” said District 1 Ald. Barb Stockhausen, who noted that “very diligent Community Service Officers” were writing citations downtown.

The change does not include city parking lots.