To the editor:

After reading a recent letter to the editor complaining about downtown Lawrence’s parking meters and parking fines, I’d like to offer another perspective.

In July, I visited a friend in Phoenix. One day we went shopping and had lunch in downtown Tempe, Ariz. — another college town. Not only was parking extremely difficult to find, all spaces were metered (no free two-hour lots). A quarter in the parking meter yielded only 15 minutes of parking time (as opposed to Lawrence’s 1 1/2 hours).

We emptied our pockets of change until we had two hours on the meter. Unfortunately, we did not pay close enough attention to the time, and when we arrived back at the car, the meter had expired and a ticket was on the windshield. Expecting something comparable to the $2 fine in Lawrence, I was slack-jawed when I saw the Tempe fine: $28.

Back in downtown Lawrence some weeks later, I happily plugged just one quarter in the meter. There was plenty of time to wander around, get coffee and get a haircut. But if the meter did expire before I got back, it would only be $2.

Sometimes we just don’t know when we’ve got it good.

Lisa Rasor,

Lawrence