It was only after Norm Meanor fed another quarter into the parking meter on Beaver Street that he found out he could have saved the change for another time.

"Born and raised here and I had no idea," he said.

On the second day of Sewickley's free parking until 10 a.m., most folks were dropping quarter after quarter into the machines not realizing they could have parked for free.

Meanor was puzzled why no signs were posted informing morning visitors of council's June decision to allow free parking from Walnut to Chestnut streets for 90 days.

"Someone should certainly alert everybody of the free parking," Meanor said.

"How else will people coming into Sewickley know about it?"

He likes the idea of free parking in the mornings and said many visitors don't stay around too long.

"It's a good approach to solving the parking problem here," Meanor said.

"A lot of people come down here to run some errands, get coffee and go."

On the other end of Beaver Street, Edgeworth resident Cathy Kelly was packed and ready to head off for a family vacation but needed to stop by the bank for a moment.

She had read about the free parking but was unaware that it had started.

"I read it in the paper but I did forget about it, so thank you for reminding me," she said, getting ready to put a quarter into the meter.

Like Meanor, Kelly welcomes the free parking for busy Beaver Street, even if it is temporary.

"It is nice to not have to worry about a quarter," said Kelly, who was parked near Wolcott Park on Beaver Street.

"I often come down and run to the cleaners and the bank and don't stay for very long."

Business District Advisory Committee members recommended 30-minute intervals of free parking during a two-hour period on Beaver Street to last 90 days.

The committee wanted to study morning visitor habits to see how many vehicles come and go before most of the business community opens for the day.

Around 9:45 a.m. last Thursday morning, the Sewickley Herald noted that in the 14 filled spaces from Walnut to Broad streets, four were expired. Ten meters were left ticking down the minutes, many with more than 30 minutes on the meter.

From Broad to Chestnut, six of the 13 spaces were filled. The six meters in use had expired.

"People keep putting money in the meters without any warning," Meanor said.

"A lot of the meters keep running."