Free morning parking has arrived in Sewickley -- at least for the next three months.

Yesterday began Sewickley's three-month trial period of free parking from 8 to 10 a.m. on Beaver Street from Walnut to Chestnut streets

The plan allows for customers running morning errands not to worry about feeding a meter.

Two-hour free parking was not the original idea of Sewickley's Business District Advisory Committee, but borough council members feared implementing the proposed half-hour free parking for two hours would have caused problems.

"What does this cost?" said councilman Dean Williams. "I've seen communities where this is done, and you don't just do it on a notepad. It's a pretty sophisticated process and can cause a lot of problems."

Chalking of tires concerned other council members, too.

Free parking was one of eight recommendations the advisory committee spent nearly six months working on. But it was the on-street parking recommendation that was most problematic for some council members.

Business committee members recommended a half-hour free parking between from 8 to 10 a.m. Their thought was that customers would use that time to drop off dry cleaning, go to the bank and grab a cup of coffee -- tasks that committee members think don't take longer than 30 minutes to complete.

Still, the new plan could be good news for the business district, said Phil Harris, Sewickley Valley Chamber of Commerce president.

"For people who are stopping to grab something at Starbuck's or the bakery, it'll give them a chance to not worry about paying a meter," he said.

Flannery said the borough will study the effects the free parking has on the business district and report those findings to council in October.

While the free parking will only impact businesses open before 10 a.m., Harris said it could have a long-lasting effect.

"It's going to help some businesses directly," he said.

"And if it helps improve people's perception of Sewickley, then it'll help everyone in the long run."

What you need to know...

Free parking on Beaver Street is from Walnut to Chestnut streets in the Village. Customers are permitted to park until 10 a.m. without placing money in the meters. Free parking continues through the remainder of June and will conclude in September.