Editor, Parking Today:
We have a business owner here in our downtown business district who wanted two 10-minute loading zones in front of his restaurant. Their primary use was for customers who wanted their orders to go. Of course, the city obliged his request to remove the parking meters and install two 10-minute loading zone signs. Some of the management abused this privilege and used the spaces for their own parking.
After several weeks, the same owner requested to lease from the city the public parking space used for one of the loading zones for his personal use. The city again obliged his request for $500 per year. Now some of our businesses in the downtown area are wanting the same thing. I advised that it would be a big mistake to remove the parking meters to do this.
I told them that if the Public Service Officers would just do their jobs and enforce, enforce and enforce, they wouldn’t have this kind of problem. The public just want a space to park and shop, shop and shop. They will not come downtown if the cities have sloppy parking enforcement.
Frank Chaney
Florence, AL
fchaney@florenceal.org
