Can't you read the parking signs? Yes, no ...maybe?

I'm so old, I can remember when the issue of way-finding signs for parking was mentioned at a merchant mixer meeting. It was around September, 2014. Specifically, downtown retailers asked whether there was some way of letting visitors know when the State Street parking garage could be used free of charge -- perhaps a banner visible from the street, prior to the holiday shopping season.

They were told by the city's representative that although this had never occurred to anyone previously, signs would be made. Roughly nine months later, the parking garage finally bore bright new signs like the one below.

And still nowhere is there a banner visible from the street, explaining how to use the garage, and when it can be used free of charge: Always on the upper two levels, at night, and on weekends.  

The photos below illustrate signs that greet the visitor to the city's newly dubbed "Lot J" on Pearl between Elm and Spring.

Needs a haircut, but so does the city. Can we park here ...

 ... or is it for permit holders only?

How do we get out?

Hey, does anyone know if I can park here?