Allowing a business to purchase reserved parking spaces in downtown Lawrence would set a bad precedent.

The downtown branch of Lawrence Bank plans to temporarily move from its current location on the northeast corner of Ninth and New Hampshire to accommodate construction of a new apartment and retail structure at that site. The bank will move back to that site after the project is complete, an estimated 18 to 24 months.

During that time, Lawrence Bank is planning to move its branch to a former bank building at 800 Massachusetts. To make sure its customers have good access to the temporary location, the bank is asking the city to reserve two public parking spaces next to the bank on Eighth Street exclusively for bank customers. According to a city staff report, the bank plans to construct a canopy to cover the two spaces so it can maintain drive-up services, although it’s unclear how those services will be extended over the sidewalk between the building and the street. The bank is offering to pay $192 per year for each space, which is the equivalent of a 10-hour city parking pass, but such passes usually are valid only in 10-hour lots located at the edges of downtown.

The question here is how many other downtown businesses would like a similar deal from the city?

City staff is recommending approval of Lawrence Bank’s request, but the matter was deferred by the Lawrence City Commission last week after concerns were expressed by Downtown Lawrence Inc. The item is tentatively scheduled to be on next Tuesday’s agenda.

Before city commissioners act on this request, they need to consider the precedent they would be setting. Allowing the bank to reserve parking spaces for its private use, even for a limited time, opens the door to other downtown businesses that also would like to reserve spots for their customers.

Lawrence Bank was well aware of the parking situation at its temporary site. Its customers may experience some inconvenience at that location, but it’s the same inconvenience customers of every downtown business deal with year in and year out.

It would be nice to accommodate the bank, but out of fairness to other downtown businesses, commissioners need to say no.