The Fayetteville City Council on Monday endorsed a paid downtown parking plan put forth by Walker Consultants.

A timeline for when that will go into effect has not been established, as the council still must buy equipment and approve several ordinances for the changes to become law. The parking proposal is being adopted as the city prepares for a new minor league baseball stadium, hotel, apartments and offices that are expected to bring more traffic downtown.

Here's what we do know about how the city plans to implement a paid parking program.

What will happen to downtown spaces?

The plan calls for 400 downtown parking spaces that are now free for a couple of hours to become paid spots. The spaces are along portions of Hay Street, Franklin Street, Ray Avenue, Maxwell Street, Donaldson Street and Gillespie Street.

The proposal calls for charging $1 an hour weekdays from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. People going to special events, which includes Woodpecker games, would pay these same rates if they could find an open space.

What will happen with the Hay Street parking garage?

The 486-space garage is under construction on Hay Street next to the Prince Charles Hotel and in front of the new baseball stadium.

Plans call for using the garage occasionally as paid parking for special events, but officials have said that on many days it will be a challenge for baseball patrons to find a space there.

The parking garage would accommodate the following overlapping uses:

• 90 spaces for Prince Charles residents

• 30 spaces for Woodpecker baseball team staff, players and coaches

• 120 spaces for people staying in the new downtown hotel

• Five spaces for Amtrak train customers

• 300 spaces for retail and office uses

Others could use it as well, if they can find a space.

A charge of $1 per hour is proposed when people park in the garage for non-events, with a $10 daily maximum. People who park overnight, such as Amtrak customers, would pay $12 to $15 to park in the garage. The city is contemplating making the first hour free so people pulling up to buy train tickets could get in and out without having to pay a parking fee.

City Traffic Engineer Lee Jernigan said it is not likely that people attending special events like baseball games will find a space in the new garage, especially if the games are during the week when office users are taking up spaces.

"We will be directing folks to use our other lots for the games,” he said.

He said when special events are held on weekends, the city might open the parking garage to event parking. If that happens, the charge would be $10 a day.



What will happen to the Franklin Street parking garage?



It currently costs 50 cents an hour to park in the garage. That would change to $10 for special events. When there is not a special event, parking would be free the first hour, then $1 each hour after that up to a maximum of $5 a day.



What will happen to parking in city parking lots downtown?

It is now free to park in those lots. The city is proposing charging $5 a day to park in city lots that are farther from the stadium and $10 for those lots that are closer to it.



What would be considered special events in which daily fees are imposed?

This would include 109 events, including 70 home Woodpecker games, 19 concert dates, 12 festival days and eight other event days, including the Big South Tournament and the annual Zombie Walk.