Bridgewater is moving away from parking meters, for now.
The town voted unanimously to suspend all meters in the downtown beginning Thursday until October 1, 2016.
The decision was made ahead of the closure of the south parkade on October 26, which is expected to be demolished in November.
Mayor David Walker says more free, on-street parking will be created on King, Pleasant, Phoenix and Empire Streets.
“We know there is going to be a little bit of confusion initially, so let’s remove the parking meters, open things up and try and encourage people to continue coming downtown during construction.”
The moves also means relocating more than two dozen permit-only spaces to the town hall parking lot.
Walker says it’s a good opportunity to see how the public reacts.
“Hopefull, everybody is going to respect that you park free but you do your shopping and then you sort of move on because that’s the idea of turnover.”
Meanwhile, the loss of the south parkade will create a significant change in downtown Bridgewater.
Staff will hold a number of meetings explaining what’s happening.
The first meeting will be held Wednesday over the lunch hour.
Three more meetings will be held October 13 with business owners on King Street.
There will also be displays in stores and at the Bridgewater Mall.
Business owners will also be given information to provide to their customers.
The video above, courtesy of the Town of Bridgewater, explains the project in greater detail.
