Parking can be so dramatic. Take Hayward, Calif., for instance. According to mercurynews.com, the city recently implemented parking limits for its free garages and lots so that BART commuters would stop parking there all day. The parking limits affected municipal employees who regularly park in the free garages and lots, so they were given permits to show they are exempt. Now local merchants want the same privilege. They park in the free lots to leave street spots open for their customers.
Hayward has issued more than 270 parking citations downtown since January after handing out warnings in December, said city spokesman Frank Holland.
True Value Hardware owner Jacob Shatara was ticketed for parking on A Street near his store at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and A about a half mile from the BART station.
“I’ve been parking there for 17 years, in the same spot, with no problems until now,” he said.
The noise around town is that city officials are going to propose a study of the situation. However, Mayor Barbara Halliday, perhaps motivated by the journalists ringing her phone off the hook, has other plans.
“I’m going to suggest that we offer businesses permits so their employees can park and not be ticketed. We should be looking at this now, not later,” said Halliday. She plans to bring up the subject at the next council meeting to see if other council members agree.
It makes sense to address the issue quickly and it would make more sense to address the issue before it became an issue. But it would be a problem for local news outlets if their city leaders never made a misstep. All’s well that ends well.
Read the article here.
