Racine Common Council holds public hearing to consider whether to remove parking meters

RACINE -- City officials got a mixed response in Racine Tuesday evening, Feb. 5 during a public hearing on a proposal to get rid of parking meters.

The Racine Common Council held the hearing to discuss the proposal city leaders believe will make Racine more welcoming for guests and help promote business in the downtown area.

Some business owners said getting rid of the parking meters could create a new problem.

"A lot of residents, employees and shop owners are abusing the parking system already, and if we get rid of meters, it's gonna be a mess," one person said.

"You're putting all these businesses downtown at a competitive disadvantage. Someone that goes to Shopko or Regency Mall, they don't have to pay to park," one person said.

City leaders said if they decided to get rid of the parking meters, they would need to create a new system to separate long-term parking spaces for residents and short-term parking spaces for customers.