OK, Galveston installed parking meters downtown. Here’s what happened:
Now that parking meters have been installed in downtown Galveston, people are just parking down the road in front of other businesses.
Mark says this is parking 101. What were they thinking?
I suggest that what seems obvious to us may not be obvious to the average city manager or politician. Often they take certain actions as a compromise (Put meters there but not here) and the law of unintended consequences kicks in. Think of all the organizations, some major banks, who lost fortunes getting into parking with the attitude “how hard can it be?”
Since the IPI membership is underrepresented in the municipal area (what fewer than 150 cities are members out of 4000 of any size in the US), how would a city like Galveston have a clue about parking? They could hire a consultant, but then “how hard can it be?” Or they could just lumber on and flunk parking 101.
I guess we need to do a better job of enticing them to read PT, our Facebook page, and this blog. Andy, call your office.
JVH
