New parking rules in downtown Midland start Thursday

Following uproar from business owners and customers alike, some adjustments to parking in downtown Midland are set to go into effect Thursday.

Parking throughout parking lots will remain free following approval from the town council. A new pay and display system for on-street parking and parking at the Harbour is going into effect.

The machines have been revamped, so they no longer require drivers to enter their license plate numbers into the machines.

Earlier this summer, many business owners became frustrated that the town's new system, which initially required licence plate numbers to be inputted, was turning customers away.

The town had reported hundreds of complaints since the meters were installed.

"This past year, staff and Council have been listening to residents and visitors and worked with citizen and business groups to develop a solution to our parking system that is affordable, easy to use and offers options for payments," Stewart Strathearn, the town's mayor said in a news release. "We are hopeful that free parking in the downtown lots will help to re-invigorate shopping downtown while the Pay and Display on-street parking revenues will provide some relief to the tax levy and allow visitors to our area to contribute with their paid parking."

Customers will be able to accept exact change or by using debit or credit cards. The HotSpot and Parkedin apps will also be able to accept payment.

With files from CTV's Ian Duffy.