PITTSFIELD — A three-hour limit on paid on-street parking will go into effect on North Street starting Monday, March 27.
The City Council approved the change to the parking regulations last June after downtown businesses advocated for the limitation. Current parking rules allow people to park on the street all day, which drew complaints from businesses.
“It does impact our customers,” David Daunais, owner of the Chevreux Hair Clinic at 100 North St., told the city's Traffic Commission in May last year. “They have trouble finding parking spaces. The turnover is not as good, because of those who park all day.”
The parking limit for paid, metered parking on North Street will be from Park Square to Madison Avenue. Signs for the new parking rule will be installed throughout the corridor. The parking zone, 1012, will remain the same.
Ricardo Morales, Pittsfield’s commissioner of public services and utilities, said the first phase of implementation will center on education and outreach.
“We will be educating customers for the first two weeks," he said. "This means if customers stay more than the allotted time, they will not be ticketed, but instead, will be given a warning with an explanation of the three-hour limit."
Update: This story was updated because an earlier version of this story gave the incorrect start date of the new parking limit.