SANDPOINT — With the warmer weather in the Idaho Panhandle comes the summer tourist season. And with the summer tourist season comes more traffic.

While most Sandpoint locals and visiting guests take advantage of the city’s free all-day parking lots year-round, those lots are filling up earlier in the day as more visitors come to enjoy all that North Idaho has to offer. There is ample street parking throughout downtown, but those spots come with time limits. If forgotten about, drivers can be looking at potential fines for staying longer than they’re allowed.

According to Sandpoint City Code, “the maximum time limit permitted for parking in the downtown parking zones shall be two hours, three hours or four hours per the parking signs on the streets, and up to 24 hours in the three city parking lots.”

The three city parking lots are located west of Fifth Avenue — also called the Idaho Transportation Department lot — on Third Avenue between Church and Oak streets, and off of Bridge Street across Sand Creek, by City Beach.

However, there is a way to beat the crowds and the fines this year.

Although not very well known, the city of Sandpoint offers parking passes for those who prefer street parking but don’t have the time or want to move their car every two to four hours when their time is up.

“There are two zones where individuals can purchase a parking pass to avoid playing the ‘leapfrog’ game,” said Cassidy Brocaille, the Sandpoint deputy city clerk’s executive assistant. “These zones are the three-hour and four-hour zones.”

The city offers daily, weekly, monthly and annual parking passes to help residents save time and potential headaches in the form of parking tickets. Daily parking passes are $11, weekly passes are $22, and monthly passes cost $33. Annual passes cost $329, giving regular residents the potential to save $67 as opposed to purchasing monthly passes year-round.

In the case that a pass gets lost, Brocaille said a replacement fee of $5.50 will be charged.

“If someone wants to purchase a parking pass, they will need to come into Sandpoint City Hall and request one,” she said.