MORGANTOWN — If it doesn’t already, downtown Morgantown will soon have designated meters that offer free 10-minute parking for people grabbing take-out orders.
That’s according to Morgantown Communications Manager Andrew Stacy, who also said the Morgantown Parking authority is also offering a 30-minute grace period on expired meters.
Restaurants and bars in Morgantown have been take-out, delivery and drive-through only since March 18, when Gov. Jim Justice issued an order directing the industry limit itself to those options because of COVID-19.
That limit has hurt restaurants.
“We laid off basically all of our employees,” Travis Skeen, manager at Iron Horse Tavern said.
The restaurant also had to stop its lunch service because with so many people working from home, there just wasn’t enough business to justify it. Though there are still “a good amount” of people ordering dinner, he said.
The MPA is still operating in a limited capacity, Stacy said. The window to the MPA’s office in the Public Safety Building have been closed since March 17 to limit person-to-person contact.
Customers can still call 304-284-7435 and ask questions or pay for a permit or ticket. The online payment portal for tickets is also active and can be found under Quick Links on the city’s webpage at morgantownwv.gov.
Garages are still being cleaned and maintained by the maintenance department, which are disinfecting work areas, pay stations and meters when the public isn’t around, Stacy said.
“From the Parking Authorities perspective, the most important thing during this challenging time is the safety of our staff and the public that we serve,” Stacy said.
