Roswell council approves first reading to enable enforcement of paid downtown parking

The Roswell City Council on Monday approved on first reading changes to the city code that will let the city enforce paid parking at designated on-street and lot spaces in the downtown area.

The ordinance amends Chapter 22 (Traffic and Motor Vehicles) to authorize paid parking in specific areas of downtown — including Canton Street, Elizabeth Way and East Alley — and sets a maximum citation of $20 for failure to pay. The related resolutions give the city administrator authority to set hourly rates up to a $5-per-hour cap and add Old Mill Park to a list of locations that could, in the future, be designated paid parking; city leaders said Roswell residents would not be charged at city parks, including Old Mill Park, under the intended policy.

City senior vice president Jeff Leatherman described the change as an enforcement fix for parking the city already authorized in 2019 but lacked the…