Parking wardens will be patrolling the streets of Bath until 10pm at night.
Bath and North East Somerset Council is telling applicants for an enforcement officer's job that they could be asked to work any time from 6am to 10pm.
The authority has stressed that any late-night patrols will be in response to particular problems where yellow lines are being ignored by drivers, and will not be routinely rostered.
It says the extra monitoring has been requested by what it calls a "broad cross-section" of residents, although not by any specific groups.
Federation of Bath Residents' Associations chairman Henry Brown said he felt the extension of patrols was a good idea.
He said: "If there are things that need to be enforced then they should be enforced properly.
"If there is a tendency for people to park on the yellow lines then I think having enforcement officers working later to stop this is a good idea.
"However I feel these enforcement officers should be able to multi-task, and enforce other things like litter and street offences. This will get the most out of the workforce and help deal with several issues at the same time."
Martin Tracy, owner of the Framing Workshop in Walcot Street, and a campaigner for independent traders, fears that people may be put off from coming into the city at night.
He said: "I think if people are flouting the law and parking illegally then it is a good idea.
"But they (the council) have to be really careful about what message they are putting out.
"We don't want to deter people from coming into the city to visit restaurants and the theatre.
"It is getting harder and harder to find somewhere to park anyway."
The council says it will not be taking on extra wardens and that any extended patrols would be "cost-neutral".
Under the Road Traffic Regulation Act of 1984, councils are allowed to spend fines income only on operating their street and car parking services.
