Motorist looking for a metered parking space in the downtown area will soon be able to tell at a glance the maximum hours the parking spot can be used.

A recommendation from the Parking Task Force to color code the meter domes to correspond to the maximum time the meter will allow is being carried out by the Parking Utility.

As weather permits, parking utility staff are painting the domes of all parking meters downtown. The goal is to have all of the meters colored coded by August 1.

The following colors correspond to maximum times -

• 10 hour meters     Green
•   5 hour meters     Orange
•   4 hour meters     Purple
•   2 hour meters     Grey
•   1 hour meters     Red
• 24 minute meters  Yellow

A photo of some meters along Ash at 8th Street are attached to the release as an example of how the meters will be painted.

We also encourage those parking downtown to consider the purchase and use of an EZ Park Debit card which can be used at all meters in downtown Columbia. Those cards are available at Columbia Public Works, located on the 3rd floor of City Hall at 701 E Broadway.