The construction of the Riverfront Park will begin in late February or early March. Last November, City Council awarded a contract for construction of the park.
The start of construction will require the entire park property to be fenced, thus closing the public parking lot in the 700 block of Sophia Street as well as the parking area accessed across Sophia Street from Charlotte Street.
Because of the construction and the loss of parking spaces the city will be:
- Increasing the period of time that vehicles may be parked on the east (river) side of the 600 through 800 blocks of Sophia Street (from Wolfe Street to just south of George Street) from two hours to four hours during the periods that time restrictions apply to downtown streets (Monday – Saturday; 8:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m.)
- Convert the surface parking lot in the 600 block of Sophia Street (between Sophia Street and the river, directly across the street from the Sophia Street Parking Garage) to public parking. The only restriction on the use of this lot will be that only vehicles displaying a City of Fredericksburg resident decal may be parked in the lot Monday through Friday 5:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. The resident decals may be obtained at the Treasurer’s Office at City Hall by providing proof of City residency.
- Increase the period that vehicles may be parked in the Sophia Street Parking Garage to four hours (currently, three hours) for no cost. The rate for additional hours will remain the same ($1/hour to a maximum of $8/day.)
All of these actions will be taken prior to the closure of the parking areas on the Riverfront Park property. The specific date on which the closures will occur will be announced by mid-February.
