Voters in Ocean City, Maryland didn’t like the parking meters recently installed on their streets, so they created a petition, gathered signatures and convinced their city leaders to get rid of them.
Ocean City voters collected 1,648 signatures in a petition to put a stop to metered parking installed in June. Rather than let the petition move forward and create a referendum on the issue for voters, Councilman Joe Mitrecic asked the council to simply repeal the law that had created new paid parking spots in the first place.
First of all, who ever heard of a petition having any real affect on anything? But secondly, it’s surprising that the city would decide to remove meters it had just put in place solely based on public opinion. Further reading reveals the Ocean City has a budget shortfall and the meters were part of a plan to bring in some cash. This need for funds was motivation enough to implement a new paid parking program, but not at all likely to reconcile residents to the cost. If the city had proposed the meters had some other, more noble purpose, and argued that cause with passion, the residents might have been more accepting and left their mighty pens at home.
One Response
Good post, Paul. Citizens aren’t stupid. They will support programs that make sense, but they need to be told all the ramifications. Had these wizards talked about funding streets, sidewalks, lighting, and the like with the parking bucks, your last line, finely woven prose I might add, would never have been writ.
JVH