The first two hours of parking at the Biddeford Police lot will no longer be free as of Aug. 1.

The Biddeford Downtown Committee unanimously approved a reconfiguration of some downtown parking and adding paid parking in more city-owned locations. Last week, the committee discussed charging to park at all times at the Biddeford Police station parking lot, after hours at the City Hall lot and eliminating some or all of the free parking on Franklin Street.

The committee agreed to eliminate the first two-hour free parking at the Biddeford Police Station, and making fees mandatory for parking in that lot at all times.

The city will have the ability to waive parking for events like police training, Ward 2 Councilor Scott Whiting said.

Charging to park in the City Hall lot was also discussed.  The lot is restricted to use  by City Hall staff and elected city officials when City Hall is open. The discussion centered around charging to park in the lot when City Hall is closed. It would be managed by Premium Parking Surface Lot management, which manages most parking in downtown Biddeford.

“People have free parking on Main Street and Adams Street and everywhere else,” Ward 3 Councilor Roger Beaupre said. “I would have no problem with charging a fee for use of the municipal lot during nights and weekends. It makes perfect sense.”

The City Hall lot is located directly behind the Biddeford City Theater, making it a convenient location for patrons to park during a show.

“It makes perfect sense for patrons to pay for parking if they come to shows,” Whiting said.

In addition, a significant amount of people park in the lot overnight and on Fridays, when the restrictions are lifted.

Adding a fee to this lot could be a potential revenue source for the city, Whiting said.

The cost and structure of adding paid parking to the City Hall lot would need to be explored before the project could be approved.

The committee also discussed eliminating the current two hour free parking spaces on Franklin Street, while leaving a certain number of free spaces for short term parking of 30 minutes or less, as well as eliminating overnight parking.

Beaupre also suggested limiting the current two hour free parking spaces along Main Street to be one hour or less.

“There have been requests from businesses for more short term parking,” Whiting agreed.

Parking discussions have been at the forefront of Biddeford government lately, with the city working on reconfiguring the Yellow and Green parking lots in downtown.

The entrance to the Green Lot is now reduced to one entry point off Franklin Street, instead of the several that were in place before. The Yellow Lot is maintained as hourly parking.

All lots will be managed by Premium Parking, and the new fees for parking at the police parking lot, and new fees and entrances for the Yellow and Green parking lots will begin being enforced Aug. 1.