Talk about two different ends of the parking spectrum.
In Palm Springs the merchants are tired of people parking forever in front of their stores and are going to the city council to demand that vehicles be charged for parking on downtown streets. The Springs has been a place of elegance and class, and of course charging for parking flies in the face of such upscale patronage. Not any more…These free marketeers know that the best way to solve any problem is through the pocketbook.
However, the village of Pinehurst is solving the parking problems associated with the US Open being held locally this year by simply banning all parking on streets convenient to the course and also passing an ordinance that will not allow anyone to set up a private facility for the purpose of parking vehicles for the "open." That means that you can’t charge to park cars in your driveway, or on that vacant lot next door, or anywhere else.
That forces all attendees to the Open to park in two temporary lots set up specifically for the event.
Now, I’m not a cynic, but I wonder who is setting up those lots and just who gets the income off them. Could it be the village government? Naaaaa. The money is probably going to local charity — Right.
Sure it might ruffle the sensibilities of the fine old citizens of Pinehurst, NC, however think of the money that would be generated to people who probably could use it. The kids who could set up concessions for the open, the merchants who could get a few extra bucks by offering available parking. So it would be a week of chaos.
As they know in Palm Springs, movement and activity equals business.
Two different approaches — Palm Springs will solve its parking issues by charging for parking. Pinehurst will solve them by banning parking. Which make more sense?
JVH
2 Responses
JVH,
Having done the design/development and operations management for numerous major golf tournamants around the country, you may be sad to hear that there is NO CHARGE for parking at the U.S. Open! This proceedure is has become standard proceedure because typically the neighborhoods around these prestigious events are normally a bunch of Bluebloods that don’t want the riff-raff and traffic gumming up their streets. God forbid that they be inconvenienced. This is especially true for the homeowners groups at the Riviera in Pacific Palisades.
Right on -0- however, I wonder if the Blue Bloods would feel the same if they received something for the cars parking infront of their houses.
If the charge was $20 a day and they got the money, I bet their attitude would change substantially.
Or if the money went to repaving or new lights or an additional cop –
j