WILMINGTON — If you were a little confused by the new parking sign that popped up in front of Hell’s Kitchen last Friday, don’t worry, you haven’t entered the Twilight Zone.
The new sign appears to advertise overlapping commercial-only loading zone and metered parking hours, as well as paid parking on Sunday — which would be a new thing for Wilmington.
The three parking spots on the south side of Princess Street between Front and Second streets used to be a “Commercial Loading Zone” from Monday to Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with public parking allowed at all other times (free parking, since it was outside the city’s enforcement hours).
Due to conflicts with commercial deliveries, the City of Wilmington decided to run a pilot program, with the goal of improving the customer experience for the two adjacent restaurants with outdoor seating and limiting the commercial deliveries. according to Wilmington Parking Manager Chance Dunbar.
According to Dunbar, the goal is to allow commercial loading from Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and metered parking from Monday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (it’s not clear yet what type of use will be allowed Saturday morning).
Unfortunately, the new signage was not accurate. The city signage team will be making revisions to the sign as soon as possible, Dunbar said. Until then, the city will not be enforcing parking regulations.
