Readers want more payment options for on-street parking

The poll last week was about on-street parking and the answer with the biggest number of votes was more payment options.

Q: On-street parking downtown is free after 7pm weeknights and all day Saturday & Sunday. Thoughts? Pick up to three answers:

1. More payment options like bills, plastic or via phone 75 [27.17%]
2. Too many blocks lack any on-street parking. 40 [14.49%]
3. Extend the 2-hour limit to 3 or 4 hours on blocks with few storefronts. 33 [11.96%]
4. Enforce the 2-hour time limit but not during events like festivals or sporting events 21 [7.61%]
5. Perfect as is 21 [7.61%]
6. Regardless the city needs to enforce the 2-hour limit to encourage turnover 20 [7.25%]
7. Downtown parking meter rates & times should be the same as other areas in the city 18 [6.52%]
8. Downtown on-street parking should be free 24/7  – 16 [5.8%]
9. On-street parking shouldn’t be free on Saturdays 9 [3.26%]
10. On-street parking should stay free after 7pm weekdays but not on the weekends 8 [2.9%]
11. On-street parking should stay free on the weekends but weekdays should be paid until 9pm 7 [2.54%]
12. Other answer… 6 [2.17%]
13. No opinion/unsure 2 [0.72%]
14. On-street parking should be removed so we have more room for traffic flow.  0 [0%]

The six other answers were:

1. lower the costs to visit downtown and more people will come.
2. Enforce the limit, but get rid of the ugly garages that eat up downtown space
3. Meter parking should be free after 6PM
4. On street parking should be free after 5:00 on weekdays and all weekend.
5. Prices should fluctuate based on demand at any given time
6. It’s fine

So what do I make of these results? That the biggest group don’t mind paying to park on the street, they just want more options than change.  If you park in an area that allows more than two hours of parking it requires a lot of quarters, dimes and nickels.  I personally buy a $10 roll of quarters every so often just so that I make sure I have enough.

Cities with modern parking policies have “pay-n-display” machines rather than our 20th century meters.  Pay-n-display eliminates meters at each spot — in fact there are no specific spots — you can get more cars in a given amount of street.  After paying the fee with cash, coin, or credit you affix a receipt inside your car window.  Other systems allow you to extend your time via your cell phone.

The second most popular response was “Too many blocks lack any on-street parking.”  This is a big peeve of mine, in particular the north side of the 1100 block of Washington.  The lane that should have on-street parking in front of the bowling alley, hair salon, pizza place and diner is reserved for “turning movements” — all that traffic that goes north on Tucker.  I’ve made two short videos of this block to highlight the lack of traffic during the weekday rush hour.

March 2010:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_e_CqFA4fk

September 2009:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAFVOnngoTc

It is clear there is disagreement on downtown’s parking policy.

– Steve Patterson