The need for speed is making its way to downtown’s parking system.
A plan to convert four Massachusetts Street parking meters per block into 15-minute in-and-out meters won preliminary support from city commissioners Tuesday evening.
A majority of commissioners sided with a group of about 40 merchants who had signed a petition supporting the change.
“There are an awful lot of businesses that would benefit from this, and consumers are going to benefit too,” said Bob Schumm, owner of Buffalo Bob’s Smokehouse and Dynamite Saloon.
The in-and-out parking will benefit take-out restaurants, jewelry shops that offer repair services, flower shops, clothing alteration businesses, banks, and several other types of service businesses in downtown, commissioners were told.
“I’d be willing to try anything that helps people get in and out of the spaces quicker,” Commissioner Mike Dever said. “That is what we’re trying to promote.”
Commissioner Mike Amyx expressed concerns about the proposal, saying it would frustrate potential shoppers and visitors to downtown who are used to all the meters on Massachusetts Street being two-hour meters.
Each block on Massachusetts Street downtown has an average of 37 parking stalls on each side. The proposal would convert two stalls on each side of Massachusetts, from Sixth to 11th streets, into 15-minute meters. Commissioners directed staff to bring back a more formal plan for how the special meters would be marked, and exactly where they would be placed on each block.
Commissioners also tentatively agreed that the special meters should have a fee of 25 cents for 15 minutes, which would be double the rate charged at the two-hour meters. But commissioners declined to charge a special fine for overtime parking at the short-term meters. It will be $3, which is the same for all downtown meters.
If commissioners give final approval in the next few weeks, it will take about two months to convert the parking meters. Commissioners agreed to revisit the issue in about a year.
Comments
LJWorld.com doesn’t necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post. Read our full policy. Also, read about banned accounts and harassing comments.
misplacedcheesehead (anonymous) says…
Uh, did it occur to whomever titled this article how that would sound......? Sounds like parking meters for a "red-light" district.
Keith (anonymous) says…
"Alex: No time for the old in-out, love, I've just come to read the meter. "
bmwjhawk (anonymous) says…
I suggest they put them all in front of Rudy's.
grammaddy (anonymous) says…
Who's going to enforce this?
kef104 (anonymous) says…
Brilliant minds. All stores and malls do everything they can to get the customer in and out as quick as possible. Forget the concept that the longer one is in a shopping environment, the more money is spent. Nope, lets do even more to make shopping downtown an inconvenience and get folks out of there as quick as possible.
Only Lawrence uses a quick food restaurant model for its "premier" shopping district. Does the Plaza have meters? I bet if they added meters to the Plaza their sales would really take off and eventually stores would last for more than a couple of years. Nope, stores in downtown Lawrence do so much better by telling shoppers to get in and out as quick as possible.
Yep, and we wonder why so much local money is spent in other areas and communities.
madameX (anonymous) says…
Lighten up, dude (or possibly lady). It's four meters per block. Downtown is five blocks long. That means that of all the parking spots downtown, only twenty of them will be short-term. How many parking spaces are there downtown? Not sure, but it's way more than twenty. Plenty of long term parking for those who need it.
whats_going_on (anonymous) says…
really don't think this is going to stop people from parking there for longer than 15 minutes.
thisiknow (anonymous) says…
I see it now-------A driver pulls in the 15 minute slot and the driver behind him will stay on the street to wait for his return(it'll only be 15 min.) You are going to have traffic tie ups and drivers passing the waiting car. Envision the line behind the waiting driver and perhaps a driver wants to pull out further down the street and is being blocked in by the waiting line.
snap_pop_no_crackle (anonymous) says…
Keith, clever lad that he is, made the ideal post on this thread.
alm77 (anonymous) says…
Use the parking garage! We always do. It was full once. That was during the National Championship parade. Never seen it full since.
d_prowess (anonymous) says…
I just think this is going to be annoying for non-regulars downtown. People that go down there with regularity will learn where these spots are and avoid them (if going to be longer than 15min). Out of towners are going to be the folks frustrated when they are hunting for a spot on Mass and find one, only to discover after they pull in that it is a 15 min spot.
I am glad that they plan on revisiting this issue in a year and hopefully they track the percentage of tickets they issue for these spots compared to the 2hr spots. I would bet there will be quite a difference.
oneeye_wilbur (anonymous) says…
If correct, then the city has just added four more handicapped spaces per block. Can't one with a handciapped sticket displayed park anywhere? 'just the facts please"?
madameX (anonymous) says…
^^By that reasoning, all parking spaces were already handicapped spaces, so nothing has really changed.
oneeye_wilbur (anonymous) says…
I want to see what happens when vehicles with a handicapped sticker park there and those wthout complain they have no place to park and run in and out?
parrothead8 (anonymous) says…
Congratulations, downtown merchants. You have successfully lobbied to make it easier for people who want to come downtown and shop only at one business for 15 minutes or less at the expense of people who want to come downtown and shop at many different businesses for long periods of time.
If you want your customers to spend less time in your business, move out of downtown and install a drive-thru window.
joejarvis (Joseph Jarvis) says…
I think this is a great idea. I believe I read Meritrust credit union staff proposed it. Kudos.
CaraB (anonymous) says…
This is a great idea! More people should utilize the parking garage for long-term parking.
I think the lack of convenience deters shoppers who might otherwise choose to shop locally. The fact is, it's just faster to go to a super store. This could help downtown businesses be more accessible.
jafs (anonymous) says…
Only if you can really get in and do anything in 15 minutes, which is unlikely.