ALBANY — The city's downtown residential permit parking system is now tentatively scheduled to start Jan. 15, and officials are urging eligible residents to have their permits in hand before then.

In October, city officials began issuing the permits to residents of three zones within three-quarters of a mile of Empire State Plaza, but implementation of the system has been delayed as city workers install 1,400 street signs to alert motorists to the new restrictions.

The color-coded signs, covered in paper, have begun to appear throughout the affected neighborhoods. Residents are being asked not to uncover them yet to avoid confusion.

Permits cost $25 and are available, with proof of residency in one of the three zones, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the city clerk's office on the second floor of City Hall. For more information about the system and the required proof of residency, visit the city's website at www.albanyny.gov.

Broadly, the plan will affect the Center Square, Washington Park, Hudson/Park and Park South, Mansion, Pastures and Ten Broeck Triangle neighborhoods. It will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. Anyone will be allowed to park for up to two hours, even in permit-only spaces.

But parking for longer than two hours will require motorists to have the correct color parking decal for that neighborhood. Violations will cost $50.

Parking spaces adjacent to commercial properties, like those on Lark Street, are not affected by the system.

After more than two years of planning, officials had initially hoped the system would take effect Oct. 1, but the logistics of issuing the permits to potentially thousands of residents, as well as ordering and posting the signs, caused delays.

So far, only about 800 resident permits have been sold citywide, according to Councilman Richard Conti, who represents much of Zone A around Center Square. An additional 200 $10 visitor permits have been sold to residents to accommodate guests, City Clerk Nala Woodard said.

Woodard urged residents to apply for their permits before the system goes into effect to ensure they get their permit in time and to avoid the last-minute crush of applicants.

Ideally, Woodard said, he would like to get most permits issued before Jan. 15.

Overall, up to 2,750 parking spaces are covered by the system, with many more residents than that eligible to receive a permit. Having a permit does not guarantee a parking space.

Once it starts, the system will be in effect for at least two years. Making the program a two-year trial was one of the city's concessions to get state lawmakers to sign off on it after more than two decades of opposition from state-employee unions that represent thousands of workers who will be forced to find alternatives to the free on-street parking many have enjoyed for years.

jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com • 518-454-5445 • @JCEvangelist_TU