Street parking near Legacy Plaza restricted to 3 hours during business hours

Vehicles can now only stay parked on the 300 block of West Fourth Street North, between Legacy Plaza and the Jasper County Administration Building, for three hours. Newton City Council voted 6-0 to approve the changes to street parking after receiving concerns from businesses on the current time limits.

According to city documents, the current time limits no longer meet the needs of businesses and customers in this area.

Prior to council action, street parking was only allowed in one spot for up to 72 hours, or three days. The city said this has a negative impact on customers and patrons of businesses in Legacy Plaza by reducing available parking and making customers use long-term parking lots nearby to do business in the area.

For some time, no parking was allowed on the east side of the 300 block of West Fourth Street North, but nevertheless cars routinely parked on the east side of the street. Staff determined city code did not actually allow it, so council’s action effectively makes a technical change to allow what is already happening.

With the growth of Legacy Plaza, staff reasoned there is a need for on-street parking to be allowed. The street is 38 feet wide, which is adequate space to permit parallel parking along the street. Parking will now be restricted to three hours on both sides of the 300 block of West Fourth Street North.