It's the debate that just won't go away at City Hall. What to do about parking meters, fees and fines?
The Monroe City Council voted this week to remove all of the parking meters from the downtown area, even off the Square. All of the meters on the Square are being pulled for the streetscape project.
The talk this week returned to how to collect fees and fines after all of the meters are gone. A license recognition system, which sounds way too complicated and expensive for the task at hand, still is part of the conversation. There is added concern, however, that a parking enforcement system will cost more than the TID money available. (An argument also should be made that TID funds are more appropriately spent on improvements rather than parking meters, kiosks or computerized systems.)
We have been saying for months, and will say it again, that the best solution is to let people park for free. If the council is determined to have some sort of parking fee-and-fine system, it needs to be as simple and inexpensive as possible.
The priority downtown should be promoting commerce, which also brings revenue into the city. Free parking may not necessarily entice shoppers to come to the Square and downtown - as many of our online readers have pointed out, customers of retail stores off the Square already get to park at no cost. But free parking at least removes a deterrent to potential shoppers.
The whole idea behind the streetscaping improvements is to make the downtown more inviting and pleasing to shoppers. The parking system should be equally accessible. Having free, unrestricted parking downtown would be the most customer-friendly approach. Short of that, free but timed parking is the next best solution - one that was discussed during Tuesday's Finance and Taxation Committee meeting.
Yes, the city would miss the revenue that parking fees and fines bring in. Yes, those lost dollars would impact the Police and Street departments, as Police Chief Fred Kelley noted Tuesday. But those short-term losses could be recouped, and then some, if the completed improvements on the Square lead to an increase in business there. That should be the goal.
The Monroe City Council voted this week to remove all of the parking meters from the downtown area, even off the Square. All of the meters on the Square are being pulled for the streetscape project.
The talk this week returned to how to collect fees and fines after all of the meters are gone. A license recognition system, which sounds way too complicated and expensive for the task at hand, still is part of the conversation. There is added concern, however, that a parking enforcement system will cost more than the TID money available. (An argument also should be made that TID funds are more appropriately spent on improvements rather than parking meters, kiosks or computerized systems.)
We have been saying for months, and will say it again, that the best solution is to let people park for free. If the council is determined to have some sort of parking fee-and-fine system, it needs to be as simple and inexpensive as possible.
The priority downtown should be promoting commerce, which also brings revenue into the city. Free parking may not necessarily entice shoppers to come to the Square and downtown - as many of our online readers have pointed out, customers of retail stores off the Square already get to park at no cost. But free parking at least removes a deterrent to potential shoppers.
The whole idea behind the streetscaping improvements is to make the downtown more inviting and pleasing to shoppers. The parking system should be equally accessible. Having free, unrestricted parking downtown would be the most customer-friendly approach. Short of that, free but timed parking is the next best solution - one that was discussed during Tuesday's Finance and Taxation Committee meeting.
Yes, the city would miss the revenue that parking fees and fines bring in. Yes, those lost dollars would impact the Police and Street departments, as Police Chief Fred Kelley noted Tuesday. But those short-term losses could be recouped, and then some, if the completed improvements on the Square lead to an increase in business there. That should be the goal.
