–Here’s a list of ideas in the SF Chronicle for small business people who don’t have enough parking in front of their stores.
Nearby garages. Identify the closest public parking lots or garages.
Promote them as a parking option in your ads or brochures: "Sue’s Knick-knacks
— just one block from the Lombard Street Garage!" Consider a validation
arrangement to subsidize customer parking.
— Borrow spaces. Lynette Spiegel of Jeffrey’s Natural Pet Food in North
Beach made friends with the owners of a nearby auto repair shop. "If I know I
have an important customer coming, I call over to the garage and they will let
them park there for a while" she wrote in an e-mail.
— Curbside service. San Francisco Cleaners on Polk Street makes it easy
for customers to pick up their dry cleaning while double-parked. "I tell her my
name, ticket number and what kind of car I am driving and she tells me the
exact amount I need to pay," wrote customer Syndi Seid in an e-mail. "Upon
arrival, we exchange the clothes for a check to pay for the services. It has
certainly kept me as a customer to have this service available."
— Meter money. Some businesses keep a stash of quarters to help
customers feed their meters. "Often finding the parking place is less the
problem than having the coinage on hand," wrote Cathedral Hill resident Jeanne
Robinson.
— Green zone. You can apply for a green zone for short-term parking in
front of your store. Contact the Department of Parking and Traffic for details.
— Online commerce. Make it as easy as possible for customers to buy
online — or at least browse online and order over the phone.
Actually I like them — however there were two not on the list — 1. Don’t have any of your employees (and this includes you) park anywhere near your store. Have them take the bus. and 2 — Demand the city charge more for parking in your area. That would create space and people could park there. If they balked at the price, you could subsidize it if you wanted, but my guess is most would happily pay a few bucks just for the convenience.
JVH
