"The signs do not indicate what the hours are." A resident said that at the September 30 Lititz Borough Council meeting, according to LNP | LancasterOnline's meeting report, and Police Chief Jared Hahn agreed with him. Downtown Lititz is heading into its first holiday season since the old meter heads came off, and the hours those signs leave out decide which events cost money to park for.
Under the new system, paid parking stops at 6 p.m. The town's biggest evening traditions start after that, so they fall in free time. Most of the daytime events land inside paid hours. If you know where 6 p.m. falls on the calendar, you can plan the whole season around it.
The Rules the Posts Don't Show
Council approved Agreement 583 on March 31, 2026, switching downtown parking to ParkMobile. A subcommittee had recommended it "in response to increasing negative feedback with the existing meters." The meter heads came off, but the posts stayed. That's why the curb looks almost the same as it did last year and works completely differently. Chief Hahn told council the system had gone live the week before the September 30 meeting.
Here's what the borough's Downtown Parking page lists, which the street signs don't:
- Paid hours: Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sundays and holidays are free.
- Rate: $2.00 an hour. You can pay for as little as 15 minutes.
- Ways to pay at the space: the ParkMobile app, a QR code that takes a card without the app, texting "Park" to 77223, calling (833) 785-1205, or Apple Pay and Google Pay.
- Kiosks: two of them, at 39 East Main Street and 56 North Broad Street. They take cards, cash and coins.
- More time: you can add time from your phone without walking back to the car.
- Lots: the borough runs no paid lots. Some privately owned lots use their own ParkMobile setup, and the borough doesn't own or operate those.
Per the LNP report, paid parking covers parts of East Main, North and South Broad streets, West Kleine Lane and a few other streets. The borough's map shows the exact blocks, and it's worth checking before a busy Saturday. The page also says holidays are free without listing which days count.
Where 6 p.m. Falls This Season
Line the season's events up against the parking hours and they split cleanly.
| Event | Date | Time | Paid parking? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lititz Art Association Holiday Gift Show | Fri., Nov. 13 | 3 to 7 p.m. | Paid until 6 p.m. |
| Lititz Art Association Holiday Gift Show | Sat., Nov. 14 | 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Paid the whole time |
| Santa's Arrival, Lititz Springs Park | Fri., Nov. 27 | 2 to 2:30 p.m. | Paid unless Black Friday counts as a holiday |
| Christmas in the Park, Lititz Springs Park | Fri., Dec. 4 | 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. | Free |
| Community Christmas Carol Sing, Moravian Church Square | Thu., Dec. 10 | 6:30 p.m. | Free |
| Christmas Candlelight Tours, Johannes Mueller House | Fri. and Sat., Dec. 11 and 12 | 5 to 8 p.m. | Paid for the first hour |
The two biggest evening gatherings both start at 6:30 p.m., half an hour after paid time ends. Christmas in the Park runs at the band shell at 24 North Broad Street, with local performers, a carol sing with candle lighting, the Community Christmas Tree lighting, and food vendors and restrooms on site. Six days later, the Community Christmas Carol Sing is free at Moravian Church Square, 8 Church Square, with the Moravian Trombone Choir and refreshments, hosted by the Lititz Historical Foundation and Lititz Moravian Archives. On both nights you can park on Main or Broad without paying.
The Afternoon Events Run on the Meter
Most of the season's parking cost comes from daytime visits, so it builds slowly.
Santa's Arrival is set for Black Friday, November 27, from 2 to 2:30 p.m. at Lititz Springs Park. After that, Santa is in town Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until Christmas week, then Monday through Wednesday of that week as well. At $2 an hour in 15-minute steps, the half-hour arrival costs $1 if Black Friday isn't one of the borough's free holidays. The borough page doesn't say either way. For the weekend visits, Sundays are free all day, while daytime Friday and Saturday visits fall in paid hours.
The Lititz Art Association's Holiday Gift Show opens a week before Thanksgiving at Lititz Church of the Brethren, 300 West Orange Street. If you park on a paid block, the Saturday session falls entirely in paid hours, and the Friday session is paid until 6 p.m.
The Lititz Historical Foundation's Christmas Candlelight Tours at the Johannes Mueller House run December 11 and 12 from 5 to 8 p.m. Tours leave every 15 minutes and tickets are $12. Some event listings show December 12 and 13, but the Foundation's own post and ticket slots say December 11 and 12. A 5 p.m. tour starts in paid time. Pay for the hour, or even just the last 15 minutes, and the curb is free once you come out. On the parking bill, a 6:15 slot works out the same as skipping the meter entirely.
Two Kiosks, Placed With Walking in Mind
The phone options are quick, and the early numbers show it. At the September 30 meeting, Chief Hahn reported that 90% of people parking downtown were paying at their space and the rest were using the kiosks. During the March approval, ParkMobile reported that 91% of its users in the 17543 ZIP code had already used its payment system.
The kiosks are there for everyone else. The subcommittee first proposed a single pay station near Main and Broad. Mayor George asked for two, citing the mobility of elderly residents and visitors, and council agreed after talking through placement and walking distances. LNP reported on the March approval that the kiosks cost $12,000 each. Over the three-year contract, the borough expects to save about $10,000 compared with its previous vendor.
Each kiosk sits on a holiday walking route. The North Broad Street kiosk at No. 56 is a short walk from Lititz Springs Park at 24 North Broad. It's also near Gallery 51, the Lititz Art Association's new gallery at 51 North Broad Street in the former Savory Gourmet space, which LNP reported would host classes and private events. The East Main Street kiosk at No. 39 is near Zest!, whose retail shop is staying at 30 East Main Street. Its cooking school is moving to Shops @ Rockvale at 35 S. Willowdale Drive, with classes starting October 28 and an open house on November 15 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., according to Zest!. On East Main the store is still there for gift errands, but classes now meet out at Rockvale.
What's Still Being Worked Out
The new parking system is still settling in. In the same LNP report, a resident suggested adding stickers to the signs showing paid hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, free after 6 p.m. and on Sundays, and the chief agreed. Council member Mary Gattis suggested the borough office offer a tutorial for anyone new to ParkMobile, and she offered to help people herself. A staff member at the Matthew 25 thrift shop told council the shop had lost customers since the change.
The curb may change too. Council's Streets & Traffic Committee is reviewing whether to close Juniper Lane from South Broad Street to Raspberry Lane. The lane became one-way two years ago, and Venture Lititz already closes it every second Friday. Committee chair Tannia Carpenter said Chief Hahn suggested the closure because of delivery and traffic problems, adding that "it would also have us gain a few more parking spots as well." This season's second Fridays are November 13 and December 11. Those are the opening night of the Holiday Gift Show and the first night of the Candlelight Tours, so on both nights the alley will be closed while the events draw people downtown.
Josh Wood brings the same attention to timing and detail when Lititz homeowners decide to sell. That means knowing when buyers are actually downtown, which blocks they walk, and how a listing's first weekend lines up with the town calendar. If you're thinking about selling in the borough next year, reach out to Josh Wood to Schedule a Private Consultation.
