People have always enjoyed free weekend parking in Richmond – but that is about to change in limited areas with metered spaces.

For the first time, the rule against parking too long in one spot on the street will be enforced after 8 a.m. on Saturdays in a portion of Downtown and several blocks of Arthur Ashe Boulevard, Mayor Levar M. Stoney’s administration has announced.

The purpose: To create parking turnover primarily in retail areas to allow more customers to find places to park during the day, according to the Department of Public Works that is in charge of parking regulations and enforcement.

The change is effective Saturday, Oct. 15, according to a City Hall release, though only warning tickets will be issued this Saturday and on Saturday, Oct. 22.

The plan is to start handing out real tickets carrying a $25 fine for parking too long on Saturday, Oct. 29, according to the release.

The affected areas involve the portion of Downtown bounded by Leigh, Franklin, Belvidere and 14th streets and the section of Arthur Ashe Boulevard between Broad and Moore streets. Shockoe Slip and Shockoe Bottom, for example, are not impacted, nor are stretches of Broad near the Virginia Commonwealth University campus.

The Downtown section has varied parking time periods, with 3-hour parking allowed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Broad Street Art District primarily between 1st and Belvidere streets, and two hours allowed between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the rest of the area.

Saturday enforcement will have the most impact between Broad and Franklin streets where weekend ticketing will be new.

Time limits on parking already apply to much of the Jackson Ward area between Leigh and Marshall streets east of Belvidere. Signs are posted that city permits are required to park longer than two hours at a time seven days a week.