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Kansas City business owners in the River Market area are struggling with new surge parking prices implemented by the city.Letty Stegall, co-owner of Blue Line Hockey Bar, says the parking problems are affecting all aspects of their work.”This zone is subject to event-based parking,” she said. “As soon as you park, the people who give the tickets are waiting for you to just put the ticket on the window.”She says it used to be free to park on the street in the River Market, but now surge prices are costing workers their jobs.Arthur LeDuc, owner and chef of Kansas City Taco Company at Walnut and Missouri avenues, says people can afford $1 an hour but not $30, and enforcement is excessive.”People will walk into a restaurant and say, ‘Is it really $30 to park?’ And we say, ‘Yes, unfortunately.’ Most of them go ahead and go somewhere else.””That company has three to four people all day, every day. All they do is walk around and give out tickets.”LeDuc hopes the city will address the issue because 99% of the parking is on the street.”I’ve talked to the city manager, Brian Platt. He was real pleasant. I’m cautiously optimistic that they’re working on a strategy.”Local business owners have set up an online petition to address the issue.On Monday night, Platt said he plans to eliminate surge pricing in the River Market by the end of the week:”After conversations with businesses and other stakeholders in the River Market, the city will remove the surge pricing option later this week. We will also be working on an employee discount program for lots and garages in the area not on-street parking, which should be left open for customers.”