Opinion - Letters to the Editor

POSTED: Saturday, Nov. 29, 2008

Says parking meters are hurting business

As a downtown business owner, I was gratified that the Bellingham City Council decided to give shoppers a Christmas parking reprieve.

It is unfortunate they chose not to advertise the fact.

The downtown parking issue is a real problem and, in these harsh economic times, every person that leaves my store because of an almost expired meter is a lost sale and lost tax revenue for the city. If potential customers aren't leaving, they are complaining about the cost of parking and high cost of violations.

If it isn't obvious to City Hall, it's obvious to me that the downtown meters are part of the problem. I have yet to meet anyone who can park downtown, have lunch with a friend and do some shopping in the two hours that the meters allow.

The revenue from the meters is supposed to be used to solve the problem of downtown parking. So far, I haven't seen or heard any proposals at all, just a lot of hand-wringing and head-scratching.

Proposed increases will only make things worse, and as businesses close downtown, let's hope City Hall can think of something more creative than raising meter rates to make up for lost tax revenue.

Shelley Muzzy

Bellingham