Amid downtown construction on 2nd Street between David and Durbin, the Downtown Development Authority has announced that it will sponsor free parking in the downtown parking garage from now until October 31.

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Last week, local downtown businesses were a bit miffed that the construction taking place would affect their business. Though the city responded to a number of those criticisms, there were still a few issues. The biggest of which was the parking situation on 2nd Street.

Read More: City of Casper Responds to Downtown Construction Criticism

While the city suggested parking at the newly-developed Old Yellowstone District Parking Lot, the long walk may have been a bit much for some shoppers. Because of this, the DDA said that they will pay for hourly parking in the garage located at 230 South Wolcott Street.

"After the contractor implemented the road closure, and began construction, the main stretch of parking has become temporarily inaccessible," the DDA said in a written statement. "To offset this short-term burden for downtown businesses and visitors, it is our hope that providing free hourly parking in the downtown parking garage will provide community members easy access to continue to support our local businesses that are very much still open."

Read More: To Whom It May Concern: Casper Businesses React to Downtown Street Closures

Crown Construction, the company performing the work downtown, stated that they are contracted through October 31, but hope to be done sooner than that. It is, of course, weather-pending. They also stated that, when they are able, they will open sections of the downtown street in order to appease both vehicle and foot traffic within the area.

The Casper DDA stated that they "would like to thank the City of Casper for helping improve our downtown through the project, as well as Crown Construction for their diligence to complete this project in a timely and effective manner."

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