Parking free in downtown Bloomington on Friday and Saturday nights in July

Tired of parking tickets downtown? Now you can stop sweating how long dinner is taking during your Friday night out — starting this week, on-street parking in downtown Bloomington will be free after 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday for the rest of the month.

The initiative is designed to support local businesses struggling due to the reduced summer population by encouraging more people to spend their weekend nights downtown, according to a City of Bloomington press release. It only applies to metered street spaces, not garages or surface lots, and the meters must be within the downtown area. This includes the area south of 17th Street, north of Second Street, east of Rogers Street and west of Indiana Avenue.

“I think it sends a very strong message of support for our small business atmosphere,” said Talisha Coppock, executive director of Downtown Bloomington, Inc.

Coppock said businesses on the north side of Kirkwood Avenue were shut down for five days because of last week’s storms, likely harming revenues.

“So this is a great opportunity to show downtown is open and enjoy all that there is to see and explore and walk around the downtown,” she said.

The free parking adds another incentive for some locals who prefer the more relaxed version of downtown when students are away, Coppock said.

“A downtown Bloomington summer is hard to match with the lively community atmosphere when our city is out enjoying dining and the arts and entertainment,” Bloomington mayor Kerry Thomson said in the press release. “Yet, it can be challenging for our local businesses. By offering free parking on Friday and Saturday evenings, we hope to make it easier for people to come downtown, explore, and enjoy all that our community and local businesses have to offer.”

Thomson herself will be walking around downtown Bloomington from 5-7 p.m. on July 5 and 27 and invites residents to meet the mayor, take photos and ask questions. Updates will be available at facebook.com/citybloomington.

Reach Marissa Meador at mmeador@gannett.com.