STROUDSBURG -- If you plan to visit downtown Stroudsburg, you may have to pay to park for more hours a day. Borough officials are looking to expand meter time by three hours, six days a week.
Right now in Stroudsburg, 25 cents will get you a half hour of parking.
A new plan would keep that the same, but would add hours to the time you have to pay to park downtown.
Parking on Main Street in Stroudsburg can often be a challenge. It can also be costly when you're parked there for most of the day.
That cost could soon go up.
Stroudsburg's parking committee wants to expand meter parking Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. instead of the current 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Sunday's would remain free.
Officials tell us the plan would help with traffic and bring some money into the borough.
Not everyone we found is on board with the idea.
"It might impact my decision of parking here. You know, I might just go up to the mall," said Steve Belton, Blairstown, New Jersey.
The meter expansion would impact those parking on Main Street between Fourth Street and Eighth Street.
"I am known for getting tickets, so I may not drive anymore. I may just walk. It's about a 15-minute walk for me so they may not be getting my quarters anymore," said Stroudsburg resident Troy Breen.
Not everyone is opposed to adding extra change to the parking meters. In fact, some people we spoke to think it might help with parking congestion downtown.
Mayor Tarah Probst also owns a business on Main Street and doesn't believe the extra hours of paid parking will hurt the downtown.
"I don't think 50 cents is going to deter anyone from coming downtown, personally. But I do understand the frustration for some of the business owners, but if you've gone to any main street or any town or community, it's really nothing new," said the mayor.
"I think it's a good thing and I think it will generate extra revenue for the borough, but more importantly it will open up parking spaces," said Jack Muehlhan.
Stroudsburg's mayor tells us this plan will be discussed at the next borough council meeting on July 19.
