10-Minute Free Parking Returns Downtown

The onetime perk of Middletown residency — running into CVS for a quick prescription pickup or Public Market for a gallon of milk and not having to put a quarter in the parking meter — has returned on an experimental basis.

When the city revamped its parking meter system in late 2011, motorists were given 10 minutes free, activated by a sensor under the pavement when an automobile pulls into a spot.

In December 2012, mechanical failure in the computerized parking system forced the city to suspend the 10-minute grace period. Parking Director Geen Thazhampallath told Middletown Patch vendor upgrades were needed.

Meanwhile, in Metro Square some citizens are expressing their dismay over what they perceive as the overaggressive towing of cars from the lot.

The next time you stop into the parking department to pay a ticket (and even Middletown Patch has ponied up a time or two for a violation), check out the wall of giant flat-screen monitors that show activity beamed over by cameras throughout the city.

Parking spots on Main Street are 25 cents per quarter-hour and city lots are 75 cents per hour, with the first hour free.