City parking lots to change hours during weekends

People+play+Spikeball+in+the+Quad+on+April+3.+Champaign+parking+lots+have+changed+their+hours+of+parking+for+the+weekends.++

Lanie Hibel

People play Spikeball in the Quad on April 3. Champaign parking lots have changed their hours of parking for the weekends.

By Da Yeon Eom, Staff Writer

Beginning Friday, City parking lots at Neil and Washington streets and Walnut and Washington streets will be closed during late night and early morning hours on weekends to promote the use of City parking lots for parking activities only and to discourage certain unlawful activities including the public consumption of alcohol. 

The changes were made in anticipation of welcoming more people into the downtown Champaign area as the State of Illinois moves into Phase 5 of the Restore Illinois Plan. 

Motorists can continue to park in either lot until 9 p.m. and retrieve their vehicles before 2:30 a.m., after which time both parking lots will be locked. Drivers who leave their vehicles in either parking lot after 2:30 a.m. can retrieve their cars after the lot reopens at 7 a.m. Downtown visitors who need more flexible parking arrangements are encouraged to use the City’s Hill Street Parking Deck located at 123 W. Hill St.

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