The city pursued paid parking because, it says, it needs more money to maintain existing parking options. City budget documents show the downtown parking fund has been operating at a loss for the last five years.

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - The topic of paid parking in downtown Wichita remains a hot topic during city council's Tuesday night meeting.

As of 10 p.m., the Wichita City Council is in hour four of discussing paid parking in downtown, Old Town, and Delano, considering five proposed parking options. City councilors have been asking questions about the parking options and hearing from community members for over half an hour.

The Council's vote was supposed to put an end to three months of passionate debate within the business community about whether a parking plan would deter customers from visiting downtown.