Parking At Meters

Unmetered Spaces

In areas where meters are located, there are never “free” unmetered parking spaces.  If a space does not have a meter or a post with no meter, it is not a valid parking space and parking in the space is illegal and could result in a ticket and/or possible towing of your vehicle.

Multiple Tickets

Campus and Hospital Districts

One ticket in the period 12:00 AM to noon and one ticket in the period 12:01 PM to midnight, with a minimum of two hours between the time of the first ticket and the second ticket.

Downtown District

Two (2) meter violation tickets can be issued in the AM and two (2) may be issued in the PM, with a minimum of two hours’ time between the first ticket and subsequent tickets.  Tickets issued for prohibited parking offenses, and some restricted parking violations, are not limited in number and may be issued for multiple offenses at the same location.

Bagged Meters

Meters covered with a “bag” are marked restricted parking and are not available for general public parking.  Unauthorized vehicles in bagged meter spaces are ticketed and towed.

Multiple Vehicles in Same Space

All vehicles parked within the lines indicating one parking space are subject to being ticketed for an expired meter.

Meter Enforcement

Except for official City holidays, meters located in the campus and hospital areas are enforced Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and meters located in the downtown area are enforced Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except for meters in the library lots and those located on the north side of the library on Elm Street. Those meters are enforced Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Each meter displays the hours of enforcement inside the dome of the meter.

To aid in the determination of which meter belongs to a space, double-headed meters have an arrow on the meter that points toward the corresponding parking space. For single spaces the meter is located at the front of the space.

Parking meters are not enforced on the following official City holidays:

New Year's Day

Martin Luther King's Birthday

Memorial Day

Juneteenth Day

Independence Day    

Labor Day

Veterans Day

Thanksgiving Day

Friday After Thanksgiving

      Christmas Day

Meter Rates

Campus Area

Meters in the campus area are color-coded by length of time available on the meter.  Red is 30 minutes or less, Blue is 2 hours and Gray is 10 hours.

Meters in the campus area have a rate of $1.25 an hour.

Downtown Area

Meters in the downtown area have various time lengths and are Black in color regardless of length of time available on the meter.  They have a rate of 50 cents an hour.

Hospital Area

All meters around Carle Clinic and Carle Hospital are Gray in color and have a rate of $1.25 an hour.

Parking Garage

Parking in the municipal garage at 100 W. Main St. is available for 25 cents an hour for the first two hours and 50 cents for each additional hour.

Short-Term Meters

Short-term meters (15 or 30 minutes) are installed in certain high-traffic areas such as the U.S. Post Office and in front of coffee shops and bakeries.