ATTLEBORO - City officials and residents will get a chance to weigh in on a proposal to change or eliminate the city's winter parking ban.

The traffic study commission will discuss the matter Wednesday and could suggest new rules, said ex-officio member and City Councilor Walter Thibodeau.

Any change brought to the council would likely be tried as a temporary measure first to gauge how well it works, he said.

A permanent change would spark a public hearing.

But at this point, there is no specific proposal. "We're going to kick around some ideas and give folks an opportunity to express their opinions," Thibodeau said Monday.

The matter is before the commission at the request of Ward 1 Councilor Jim Hanley, who said the annual four-month citywide ban on overnight street parking is obsolete in the face of better weather forecasting and improved methods of communicating with the public if the city needs to ban parking because of bad weather.

The ban, which is in effect even when the weather is clear and dry, creates problems, especially for apartment dwellers in densely populated neighborhoods who often have nowhere to put their cars except the street.

Those residents often get numerous $10 tickets as a result of the ban that runs from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. every night from Dec. 1 through March 31.

Efforts to lift the ban in the past have been rejected because of public safety concerns. The commission meeting will be held at city hall in council chambers at 7 p.m.