New parking regulations took effect Monday, banning parking on parts of Spring and Court Streets to help open traffic bottlenecks in downtown Washington.

In a 4-2 vote during the August meeting of the Washington City Council, the council approved the recommendation of the Streets, Buildings and Grounds Committee of the council, which read, "In an effort to eliminate several dangerous situations in our community, the Streets, Buildings and Grounds Committee moves that we prohibit on-the-street parking on both sides of Spring Street from Liberty Street to The Square, and on Court Street from The Square to North Alexander Avenue."

The committee also prohibited "U-turns on Court Street eastbound into the Post Office parking." The city has sent a letter to merchants explaining the changes.

Two city councilmen, Edward Pope Jr. and Ames Barnett, voted against the parking ban, saying the committee needed more input from the merchants and businesspeople involved.

Local business people have said that parking is only part of the problem at the intersection where Court Street comes into The Square. Cars parked on the south side of Court Street and in front of the courthouse made the street dangerously narrow, especially since the three-way intersection has no stop or yield signs for any traffic.

The parking ban also includes prohibiting eastbound drivers on Court Street from taking what amounts to a near U-turn into the narrowly spaced diagonal parking at the post office.

New yellow curb markings have appeared along part of Court Street.