RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) - Workers at Rainmakers say they are finding a lot of static on the streets outside their Shockoe Bottom recording studio.
"It's an inconvenience. The entire block was filled with cars," Manager Clinton Spell said. "Everyone is really upset about this."
Look around what you don't see are lots of parking spaces.
"If you get a spot you stay there," Keeley Davis said. "The parking is insane because there are so many more people now."
Business owners said they're feeling squeezed with new apartment buildings opening in the neighborhood. With more residents in the neighborhood mean less space to park your car.
"The city isn't taking into account the small businesses," Nick Wurz said. Wurz owns Mondial Post Production house on East Franklin Street.
The city, it appears, is intent on enforcing the parking rules in Shockoe Bottom.
This week drivers found slips of paper on their windshield warning if they overstay their welcome -- expect a ticket.
"There is no space for parking," Wurz said. "We're happy to pay for a spot. It is the getting up and having to move your car every two hours is going to be the problem."
Keeley Davis, who co-owns Mondial with Wurz, wants a solution.
He and his supporters want the city to ease enforcement or create a business district with permit parking. If not, he said his customers and ultimately his bottom line could suffer.
"When I saw this happen I thought petition," Davis said who created an on-line petition.
He wants other business owners to unite to to the problem.
"A lot of these streets have signs that say two-hour parking but they haven't been enforced since we've been here," he said.
We reached out to city council and the department of public works for comment. We have not heard back.
The Shockoe Bottom we spoke with said they're hoping to find common ground with the city. If his petition doesn't generate a solution, Keeley Davis floated an idea he hoped would gain traction.
"Maybe that could be the rule. Shockoe Bottom be motorcycles, scooters and bikes we could all park in line problem solved," he suggested.
