WESTPORT — A new chapter in the long-running downtown drama over parking will be written starting Wednesday as three-hour limits on parking take effect for major streets and lots in the core business district.

However, there will a grace period of a few weeks before strict enforcement begins, police spokesman Lt. Eric Woods said Wednesday. That period is designed to give the public leeway while familiarizing themselves with the new rules.

When enforcement does get underway, the three-hour limit will apply from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily at parking spaces designated by recently installed signs.

There is no charge for parking three hours or less in the designated spots. Those who park longer than three hours will be issued a $25 ticket and a $50 ticket for parking longer that six hours.

About 550 parking spaces are affected by the three-hour limits, out of roughly 2,000 total available in the greater downtown area, according to officials.

The parking limits were approved last August by the Board of Selectwomen, but implementation was delayed while officials awaited the new signs to install where the policy will be enforced.

It marks a return for timed parking downtown, where one- and two-hour limits had applied prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Those limits were suspended in June 2020 to encourage business during the pandemic, which had slowed substantially because of health and safety regulations.

Since then, no time limits on parking have been imposed even as business — and traffic — rebounded after pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Unlimited parking time and a lack of turnover have been factors in the ongoing debate over plans to redesign several of downtown’s major parking lots. That debate, which has raged for nearly a year, has primarily focused on multiple plans to renovate Parker Harding Plaza and to replace the loss of about 40 spaces there with a new lot carved into upper Jesup Green.

Parking spaces along Post Road East will continue to be limited to 1 or 2 hours as designated, but with state approval, may be shifted to three-hour limits.

Parking spaces previously designated for all-day parking will retain that status, officials said.

The parking limits will be enforced by police, who plan to monitor compliance with a new digital monitoring system.

Maps of the downtown parking lots and details on the number and types of spaces available can be found on the Discover Westport website.