Free Parking?

Now that street shops are officially open, with limitations, I had an idea of how they could be helped in bringing back some business.
I happen to like the paid parking (blue and white) in shopping areas around the city. Ever since paid parking went into effect I have hardly ever had a problem finding parking. When parking was free, people would park and leave their cars there for hours on end - employees and owners of local shops, car rental companies, people selling a car or parking an advertising billboard truck, and the like. Once paid parking went into effect, that all went away. The people who would normally leave the car there all day, or for weeks on end, moved the cars to free parking spots a little further away and people shopping park, do their business and leave. 
I would suggest, to give a boost to local shops that are suffering, both from long periods of being shut down and from periods of being able to do business but with strict limitations, perhaps it might be time for the government, local government or national, to reduce the parking fees - allow two hours free parking instead of paid parking from the first minute. 
Free parking might make it difficult for me personally to find a parking spot when I need it, but it would likely encourage many people to go to the stores and support them and give a boost to their businesses. 
Free unlimited parking would just bring back the rentals, the car sales, the advertising, the employees parking closer by, etc., but 1.5-2 hours free parking should be long enough for most people to do their business with paying nothing for parking, or almost nothing.
What do you think?
 
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