LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)- Lafayette Consolidated Government officials postponed enforcing parking meter changes in downtown Lafayette after receiving backlash from stakeholders, business owners and community members.

Lafayette’s Downtown Development Authority CEO Anita Begnaud says the department welcomed the public to have an open discussion on ways to improve parking in downtown Lafayette.

“Today we wanted to make sure that we could gather feedback from stakeholders about their thoughts on parking and what sorts of changes may be necessary or not,” Begnaud told News 10. “It’s really interactive and I think it gave people an understanding. It was really interesting to see that feedback.”

During the meeting, organizers said they wanted to gather input about parking meter changes.

Downtown Lafayette small business owner Bryan Dupree says he enjoyed seeing everyone’s feedback. He said he agrees with doing what’s best for the downtown area.

“Anything we can do to promote retail and being able to easily access via convenient parking is huge for retail,” Dupree said.

Carol McManus, who works in downtown Lafayette, says she left the forum with a new perspective.

“There were some things that I learned today that I was not aware of,” she said, adding that she believes the DDA is doing the right thing by creating spaces for the community members to share their ideas and concerns about what’s to come.

“It’s our livelihood down here, and it depends on what future that we can look forward to and what we’re going to invest in our property as well,” McManus said.