Chattanooga parking meter rates are going up, and enforcement is being extended until 6 p.m. weekdays and to Saturdays.
Starting Sept. 1, the rate will rise from 75 cents per hour to $1 per hour.
The meters are now only enforced until 4:30 p.m., but the extra hour and a half will be added.
CARTA officials said Saturday will be "a day of normal meter operation throughout downtown."
The changes were unanimously approved by the CARTA Board on Thursday morning.
Brent Matthews, of CARTA, said during the first month of the new extended hours that there will be warning notices instead of tickets. Full enforcement of the longer hours will start Oct. 1.
Parking meters in Chattanooga went to 50 cents in 1988 and to 75 cents in 2008.
Mr. Matthews said most cities are higher than 75 cents and have the extended hours. He said only Charleston, Richmond and Athens, Ga., are still at 75 cents. He said Atlanta is $2 per hour, Nashville $1.50 and Memphis $1. He said Knoxville was a combination of 75 cents and $1.
He said the price increase would help keep the parking spaces "turning."
On the hours, he said 4:30 p.m. is "old-school." He said downtown no longer is "dead" after that time.
Mr. Matthews said, "That is when a lot of the servers are coming into town."
He said CARTA earlier set aside six lots at lower prices for downtown workers.
On Saturday, since parking is free at the meters, he said many of the spots are taken by workers, leaving few for tourists and locals.