Signs Show New Downtown Sacramento Parking Hours Ahead Of Enforcement

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - New parking signs are popping up downtown telling drivers about extended parking hours. But many of the signs have gone up before the city planned to enforce them, leaving drivers confused.

I'm lost!" Said Martin Harmon. "I was just going to go off and leave it. If I get a ticket, I get a ticket!"

Martin Harmon circled the block in confusion for an hour on Friday night after the new signs caught him off guard. It used to be free to park after 6 p.m. but now it's only free after 10 p.m.

"And then you got like this block is this way, and that block is that way," said Brian Benner.

But even though the signs are up, the city's not enforcing payment until September. And they're giving drivers 30 days after that to adjust, issuing only warnings until Oct. 1. CBS 13 we wanted to know when to feed the meter and when to ignore it. We reached out to the city of Sacramento and they said after 6pm, the meter light stops flashing and a message pops up saying free parking.

"Right now with the signs up and them not enforcing it, I think that people will be very confused," said Heather Twitchell.

Back in March, the city council decided to extend the operating hours to 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. for metered and unmetered parking. The idea is to make it easier to find spaces in the evenings. But Brian Benner said a later time limit is only going to make his night out more difficult.

"They want patrons for the restaurants and what not, but if there is no place to park, they're not going to come!" Benner said.

"They're trying to encourage people to come downtown and I think that's going to discourage people," said Heather Twitchell.

For drivers looking for long-term parking, the city hopes they'll turn to nearby garages and parking lots.

"Yeah, it'll come, you're going to have to do it," said Harold Severson.