We ran an article on Lake Geneva, Wi, yesterday on the home page and FB/Twitter. You can read it here. Its an editorial by Lisa Seiser, who is editor of the Lake Geneva News…
Lisa Seiser, Editor.
I have never read a more clear and concise understanding of the ‘problem’ that Lake Geneva has with its parking. To start, the city installed P and D machines to some consternation. She comes to their defense, simply saying “why not wait until they are in before you criticize.” Well duh.
Then she goes on to debunk the idea that there isn’t enough parking in the city. It seems that this is a resort and there are only parking issues when tourists flock in, about 50 days a year. The rest of the time there are no parking problems. So why not attempt to solve the 50 day problem rather than build a proposed parking structure that she computes, using outdated numbers supplied by the IPI (check with PT, Lisa) that it simply wasn’t economically feasible to build a structure. Tearing down building and putting in surface lots for 50 days a year would add to urban blight. You don’t build the church for Easter and Christmas.
Free Parking? Lisa wisely points out that there are no studies that show that free parking brings in business, and besides the city can use the three quarters of a million that parking fees bring in.
Easy solution, there are none, according to Lisa.
Well done. If there was a Parking Pulitizer, Lisa Seiser of the Lake Geneva News and Resorter would get the first award. Plus she has a great smile.
JVH