WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – As of 10 p.m., the Wichita City Council is in hour four of discussing paid parking in downtown, Old Town, and Delano, considering five proposed parking options.
City councilors have been asking questions about the parking options and hearing from community members for over half an hour.
It echoes when paid parking was discussed for the first time since the public backlash when the current city council saw the longest meeting of their tenure as being over 10 hours long.
So far, the only main agenda item they’ve discussed has been the paid parking issue.
Wichita Mayor Lily Wu has said she is not comfortable with any of the options.
Wichita City Councilmember Maggie Ballard has been the only council member so far to express clear support for a plan, saying she “doesn’t understand why we’re entertaining any other option besides Option A.”
Option A is similar to the original parking plan laid out in 2019, with changes to hours of operation, more parking spaces, and changes to fees.
Wichita City Councilmember J.V. Johnston expressed his concern for the small business owners and how this may impact them.
The meeting is still in public comment and generally, people are not happy with any paid parking.
The vote has not gone through, and KSN was told that the meeting may go on until midnight. Click here for a link to watch.
Learn about each paid parking plan option below:
To learn more about the city’s downtown parking plan, click here.