BRYAN, Texas (KRHD) — The Bryan City Council has approved a new two-hour parking limit for more than 200 spaces along Main Street and near downtown storefronts, a move city leaders say will help keep spaces available for shoppers and visitors.
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The new rule covers all five blocks of Main Street between 23rd and 28th streets and will be enforced weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The city plans to install new signs and use license plate recognition technology to enforce the limit. Drivers could face a $35 fine for a first offense and up to $500 for repeat violations.
Deputy City Manager Joey Dunn said the goal is to keep parking turning over so customers can find a spot when they come downtown.
"We want to make it very clear where you can park. We also want to encourage turnovers so when someone wants to come down, there's available parking that's turning over for folks to use," Dunn said.
Cindy Roberts, who has helped run Burr's Unfinished Furniture for more than 45 years, said she has been waiting years for this change.
"I was ecstatic that they finally listened to us and are listening to the retailers," Roberts said.
For Roberts, parking is more than a convenience — it can make or break a sale.
"We're local mom and pops, we're not the big retailers that have corporate behind them. We have to survive and if we don't have customers, we're not going to survive," Roberts said.
Roberts said she hopes the new limit will draw more people to the area.
"I hope it's just gonna bring more people down here," Roberts said. "This is like hometown USA and we wanna support everybody down here."
City officials say new signs and markings for the two-hour limit will go up over the next few weeks, at which point enforcement will begin.
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