City plans to double cost of parking downtown

Lawrence city commissioners are expected to approve an ordinance doubling parking fees in the city at tonight’s City Commission meeting.

If approved, 90 minutes on the meters will cost 50 cents, up from 25 cents, and parking ticket costs will more than double — from $2 to $5.

Rates for five- and 10-hour zones also will double.

The increases come after months of budget discussions. Commissioners hope the higher rates will help pay for downtown beautification efforts and finance the salaries of at least two parking employees.

A comparison of parking rates released by the city in June showed Lawrence had significantly lower fees than most comparable cities. The new fees will take effect sometime after Jan. 1, 2004.

A public hearing on the proposed rates is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. today at City Hall, Sixth and Massachusetts streets.

Police

Transient arrested after chasing 12-year-old

Police have arrested a 39-year-old homeless man from Richmond, Va., after he was caught following a 12-year-old girl through a west Lawrence neighborhood.

Police said the man approached the child around 3 p.m. Thursday in the 3000 block of West Ninth Street and tried to persuade the girl to go somewhere with him.

Lawrence Police Lt. Dave Cobb said when the girl refused and walked away, the suspect began chasing her through the neighborhood.

Neighbors in the area called police. The suspect was arrested on charges of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child.

Crime

Convenience store clerk reports knifepoint robbery

Police are searching for a suspect who held up a clerk at knifepoint at an east Lawrence convenience store.

Lawrence Police Lt. Dave Cobb said shortly after 9:30 p.m. Sunday, a man walked into the Chips convenience store, 2220 Harper St., approached the 21-year-old clerk with a knife and demanded cash.

The suspect then left the store with an undisclosed amount of cash and was last seen running north on Harper Street.

The clerk described the suspect as a black male between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall with dreadlocks.

Cobb said the man was wearing a red shirt and a red hat at the time of the robbery and carrying a knife with a 6- or 7-inch blade.

Detectives are reviewing a videotape from a surveillance camera in the store.

Anyone with information on the suspect should call the Crimestoppers tips line at 843-TIPS.