SARASOTA - Plans are moving forward to put in parking meters in prime downtown parking spots.  Parking mangers say it will free up parking and should help business.  But not everyone is convinced.

At Max's dog bakery on Main Street, shop owner Beth Ealing is ready for customers.  She says her store had a good Christmas, but she worries if people have to put their change in parking meters, her business may change.  "I think many of the downtown businesses are already struggling, and parking has been a issue for some time," says Ealing.

In October, the Sarasota city commission gave the go-ahead to start the process to bring in parking meters.  Parking managers say right now the prime parking spots are free, so some people use the spots for hours...making it hard for others to find parking. 

So the plan calls for putting in meters.  It would cost $2 to park for 2 hours in those prime spots, like along Sarasota's Main Street.  "In the studies, what we found is that $2 charge is not a deterrent to come downtown.  The availability to get into a space right away will make them desire to come downtown," says Susan Dodd,  GM of Sarasota Public Parking Division.

The city would use a tier system; More desirable spots would cost more, if you park farther from the downtown core, it would cost less.  And the meters would go in by the middle of 2009.

The president of the Downtown Merchant's Association says she likes that idea, and hopes the meters would be incentive for employees to buy parking passes so that they don't have to pay, and that would free up parking spaces, too.

And city parking managers want to know what you think.  They're holding a series of meetings every month.  There next is Monday, January 5th.  It will focus on what days and hours the parking meters should operate, and how they should look.  Parking mangers really want business owners and residents to participate.  The meeting is from 8:30am-10am in room 112 at Sarasota City Hall.