Drivers will soon pay to park at meters in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter after 6 p.m., city officials announced Wednesday.

Meter rates will change for the so-called Hospitality Zone in downtown San Diego beginning next month.

The city will enforce parking at meters between 10:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. as part of a one-year pilot program.

Notices will be posted this week. Warnings will be left on windshields through Feb. 28.

Beginning Monday, March 3, violators will receive fines.

Residents who drive downtown for a bite to eat or to meet friends are used to those meters being free after 6 p.m. under the current rules.

Civic San Diego, a downtown parking advisory board, proposed the pilot program to see if the shift in hours would result in higher turnover for local businesses.

Proponents say there should be no increase in cost for residents who use the meters in that they will be paying for evening hours for the same amount of time they likely paid in the morning.

The area affected by the change includes the area that houses Gaslamp Quarter restaurants and Westfield Horton Plaza.

The zone’s borders are Broadway to Harbor Drive and 1st Avenue to 7th Avenue.