SALISBURY, Md. - As construction continued on "Unity Square" on Monday, the city implemented new parking improvements in the downtown.
The Unity Square project has taken away one of the main downtown parking lots.
Starting Monday, the City added one hour of free street parking and paid street parking for up to four hours.
City Administrator Andy Kitzrow says the city heard people's concerns and took action.
"Anybody who has any input they want to share with us, we'll certainly input that into our future parking decisions," he said.
Downtown business owner Randy Taylor says he's more concerned about the longterm parking problems he feels will be created by construction of Salisbury Town Center apartments.
"The parking issues they're talking about right now are sheerly temporary. The longer term issues are what we're concerned about. And that's the displacement of the balance of the lots, the spaces on the lots that are supposed to be developed," he said.
Kitzrow says in addition to more free street parking, the city is also implementing "Downtown Ambassadors."
Those will be volunteers throughout the downtown who answer parking questions and serve as a safety team at the parking garage at night.
"You're going to start seeing people throughout the week who are going to be there to assist people who are visiting downtown. Whether it's just how to navigate the Flowbird app, or figure out how to park, or just the hospitality space. And in the evening, we'll have a safety team that's going to help people get to or from the parking garage to their parking space," he said.
Kitzrow says the new parking changes will be re-evaluated at the end of Unity Square construction, which is expected at the end of the year.
Kitzrow also says the City has begun monthly meetings with downtown business owners to hear their concerns as the downtown's evolution continues.