Part of Main Street’s new look may include a revamped system for on-street parking, though members of the Ames Main Street District are debating the best system.

Members of the district, which is made up of Main Street store owners, discussed a new plan for Main Street parking at a meeting last Tuesday.

The owners want to prevent downtown employees from occupying customer parking spaces, while at the same time attracting more shoppers to the area.

Maggie Wynja, owner of American Country, 327 Main St., developed two plans to replace the current parking situation.

Proposal One would allow merchants and businesses each to pay $25 a month to the city of Ames to receive a permit for Main Street parking for two hours.

“I tried to come up with a plan where, if you donate $25, you get something in return,” Wynja said.

Proposal Two involves employers encouraging their employees to park off of Main Street. A four-hour time limit would be enforced on the street, and limits on nearby lots would not be enforced.

“We want to make our Main Street appear as if there’s plenty of untaken spots so as to draw customers to the downtown shopping district,” Wynja said.

Mari Lindner, co-owner of Sugar Tree, 312 Main St., said a two-hour permit enforced by chalking tires would mean customers would have to move out of their parking spots instead of just putting more money in the meters.

This could cause problems if all the spots are full, she said.

“If Main Street is plugged up at that point, you might lose customers after two hours that would otherwise continue shopping,” she said.

The group also discussed getting rid of parking meters and permits completely. Wynja said limitless parking times could attract customers.

“People don’t mind shopping at a mall,” she said. “They may have to walk a mile, but they know they can park all day.”

District President Dave Durlam, owner of Durlam and Durlam Men’s and Women’s Clothing, 226 Main St., brought up “friendly meters,” such as those in Des Moines and Cedar Falls, during the discussion. The meters allow the customer to park for 30 minutes free before they begin charging. However, the existing meters would have to be modified or replaced for this to work.

Any plan involving permits probably would not be stringently enforced by Ames police, Durlam said. However, it could be useful in deterring people from hogging spots, he said.

“It does give you ground to stand on if somebody is chronically parking there,” he said.