Starting Monday parking enforcement officers will be handing out tickets to people with absent or expired meter payments in downtown Truckee after issuing one final warning, according to town officials.The downtown paid parking district has been in effect for almost two weeks. But that time has been devoted to educating people about payment options and operation of the meters. Now enforcement of unpaid or lapsed payments will be met with tickets, said Truckee’s Parking Coordinator Kelly Beede.”Everyone will receive one warning and then after that they get a citation,” Beede said.An absent or expired parking slip will garner a $12 ticket, she said. The ticket for parking in an employee parking area or residential parking area without a permit will cost $15. Enforcement of permits for employee and residential parking areas will begin on Dec. 1, she said.

Beede said she has been getting scores of comments on the new parking meters, most of them negative.”There’s more negative feedback than positive,” she said.But among downtown business owners, the outlook is much more positive.”I think that it has already been a tremendous success,” said Stefanie Olivieri, downtown business owner and president of the Truckee Downtown Merchants Association. “We are seeing at least 100 parking spaces open up.”

Approximately 10 downtown businesses have agreed to reimburse customers for parking, said Stefanie Olivieri. Some have agreed to take $1 off a purchase, and others have agreed to a lesser amount, she said.Businesses that validate parking will have white signs with blue lettering in their windows that notifies customers that they reimburse parking.”If you recognize that you will be reimbursed for your parking, there is not a cost to you,” Olivieri said.As for employee parking, permit costs equal roughly $1 per day, said Olivieri. She said she has heard that many businesses are buying the permits for their employees or paying half of the cost.

“I am hoping that employers will participate by buying passes for all their employees,” she said.Down at the Squeeze In, which is packed by tourists and locals each morning, owner Gary Young said that out-of-towners don’t seem to mind the meters and many locals come in for breakfast before the 10 a.m. start of paid parking. However, he said some locals are still unaware that they can come in and eat without paying to park before 10 a.m. “A lot of locals complain to us, but they are still going to come to the Squeeze In,” Young said.