One of the things that makes Carytown such a beloved Richmond scene is the ability to shop, eat and meander down the street checking out the boutiques.

But a recent push by parking officials to enforce the two-hour parking limit is hurting business, merchants say.

That's why they plan to ask the city to extend the parking limit to four hours.

"You can't get your hair colored and done in a two-hour time frame nor can you have a relaxed lunch or look in stores. You're going to be hurrying back to your car before you get a ticket," said Raylene Wilkinson, president of the Carytown Merchants Association.

"We want to make sure people have time to relax and enjoy the area."

Though the two-hour parking limit has been on the books for years, it wasn't so aggressively enforced until a few weeks ago, said Wilkinson, who owns Pennyrich in Carytown.

Linwood Norman, press secretary for the mayor, said he doesn't know why there was an increase in enforcement by Lanier Parking, with whom the city contracts for parking enforcement.

However, working with the merchants on parking is one of several Carytown issues that's important to the city, he said.

"What we'll do is very seriously evaluate what their thoughts are," he said. "There are a whole number of things to make Carytown everything it can be. It's a wonderful shopping area. People love it and it's a prominent retail sales district for the city.

"We want to hear what the association says and we're certainly open to consider anything they come back with. We're definitely listening."

Once the city gets a formal request from the association, Norman estimates a plan would be put in place within 60 to 90 days.

City officials, including employees from economic development, community development, public works, public utilities and the police department, asked to attend one of the association's meetings June 17, Norman said.

Officials heard concerns about a lot more than parking even though it led the discussion. Some of the options discussed in that meeting included having one-hour parking on one side of the road and four-hour parking on the other and increasing the limits to three or four hours, Norman said.

Though on-street parking is the most obvious place to park, people often forget about the two parking decks located at either end of Carytown, Wilkinson said. Both offer unlimited free parking all day and night and are owned by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority. They are located at W. Cary Street and Crenshaw Avenue and W. Cary Street and Colonial Avenue.

Merchants spoke with city officials about improving the decks' signage and increasing their use, and Norman said the city plans to work with the RMA to do just that.

The city also talked to merchants about plans to improve lighting, sidewalks, road resurfacing, adding more trash receptacles, street sweeping and curb extensions within the next year, Norman said.