The first two hours of parking in Minot’s downtown parking ramps will be free beginning Aug. 1.

The Minot City Council voted Monday to extend the free parking from one hour to two hours to match the two hours of allowed street parking. Downtown businesses requested the change in fee structure in hopes of shifting some customer parking to the two parking ramps and making street parking more available to customers who need closer parking spaces.

The city’s tiered rate structure for the ramps would resume after the two hours of free parking. The cost will be $1.50 an hour for hours three to seven, with an eight-hour maximum of $6 and 24-hour maximum of $9.

– Jill Schramm