[Summit] Parking Meters on Hope

Thu Mar 10 18:45:59 UTC 2016

Our taxes are indeed high, but I think they don't come all that close to
covering the real costs of keeping the city up and running, maintaining its
infrastructure, and so forth.  Even if we were able to eliminate all
corruption and obvious waste, I still don't think they would cover those
real costs.  And I, for one, am not in favor of kicking the can down the
road and saddling the next generation with even more debt, just to keep our
own taxes lower.

There are people who think that all the unpleasant realities we face are
merely problems that can be solved with enough intelligence and political
will, and then we will all share a better world.  I disagree.  Some of
these realities are predicaments from which it is not possible to escape.
They must just be faced and endured.  The high cost of living in an old
city may well be one of these predicaments.

On Thu, Mar 10, 2016 at 12:41 PM, Ktid <ktaylor at ktid.net> wrote:

> Good points C. If they could guarantee residents a property tax break I
> think this could be more palatable.
>
> Sent from Kelly Taylor's iPhone.
> 401 486-1132
> ktaylor at ktid.net
>
> On Mar 10, 2016, at 8:34 AM, Coryndon Luxmoore <coryndon at luxmoore.com>
> wrote:
>
> The community is giving a valuable resource away to private individuals to
> monopolize for a period of time. People from out of the city have not paid
> for these spots, non-drivers are subsidizing drivers, etc.. Meters that are
> profitable will increase revenue and slow the rise of property taxes.
> Meters that are not profitable will tend to vanish to profitable areas.
>
> There is a great study done in SF on parking and utilization for those who
> want to nerd out a bit on this issue:
> http://www.sfcta.org/transportation-planning-and-studies/current-research-and-other-projectsstudies/street-parking-management-and-pricing-study
>
> I hope that the local merchants will use this opportunity to work together
> across the city to find better solutions if this does not work for them. My
> personal preference on the revenue side is a rise in taxes for surface
> parking lots to reduce incentives for demolition. There are a lot of other
> options like sales taxes, removal of TSA's, lowered services, etc. There
> are also other solutions like working on opening up the massive number of
> private surface lots around the city to the general public.
>
> Just for the record, I am a driver :). I regularly pay for street parking
> downtown to grab a coffee at Bolt. No open spot, no stopping.
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 3:21 PM Kim Clark <ktcxyz at cox.net> wrote:
>
>> the city decides all of these things. they were willing to swap out the
>> pay stations in favor of meters in Wayland Square it was such a nightmare
>> there. At least they were open to that.
>>
>> when all is said and done, the city says this is good for business, that
>> they are doing us a favor (not), but merchants are unanimous that it isn’t
>> and thus far, the neighborhoods that have gotten them are NOT happy.
>>
>> I don’t think we were even going to be told if the merchants hadn’t
>> gotten suspicious and called them and asked directly.
>>
>> they are doing this w/o reaching out to the community, although having
>> been pressed, they are meeting with merchants next week.
>>
>> as neighbors, i think your (our, as i live on dexterdale) concerns should
>> also be addressed and perhaps this is something SNA wants to get involved
>> with.
>>
>> k
>>                     *Kim T. Clark*
>>          www.RHODYCRAFT.com
>>               780 HOPE STREET
>>           PROVIDENCE, RI 02906
>>                     401.626.1833
>>
>> <http://www.rhodycraft.com>
>> <http://www.rhodycraft.com>
>>
>> On Mar 9, 2016, at 3:13 PM, Gayle Gifford <gayle at ceffect.com> wrote:
>>
>> Here's my few cents:
>>
>> 1. I'm pro and con on meters. My first concern is who decides where the
>> meters go. What role do our neighborhood associations play? What role do
>> our merchants groups play? What role does our city councilor play in this?
>> What is the plan for the city, isn't this the type of policy decision that
>> should have public input? rather than rolling out meters without
>> consultation.  E.g. I for one think the very first meters should be going
>> up around the Brown athletic complex, around Wheeler and Moses Brown. It
>> seems to me that the city's first priority should be capturing parking fees
>> from those who live outside the city, or encouraging bus ridership to
>> reduce traffic congestion and reduce pressure for more surface parking
>> lots.
>> 2. My next concern is be for the local merchants. If a chief reason for
>> parking meters is to keep parking churning so that more people can visit
>> the stores or restaurants, that should be something to measure and
>> evaluate. Clearly parking on  Thayer Street has been a problem in the past
>> and it seems the meters have helped there.  I don't ever remember having an
>> issue in Wayland Square, but I am willing to park on Medway a few blocks
>> away.  Parking meters should correspond to the needs of the merchants that
>> are in an area that parking meters are supposed to help. Is the retail pop
>> in, 10-15 minute visits or 2 hours at a restaurant? If so, then the meters
>> should be structured to allow for this. The credit cards are set up for
>> $2.50 increments and they don't capture time on the meter... if you need to
>> be at a meter for two hours and there is already time on it, you don't get
>> credit, you pay the full $2.50.  The pay stations are pretty discouraging
>> though I use them downtown... they often seem out of order.  Also, what are
>> the hours? The really annoying parking on Hope Street is at night, when
>> parked cars ignore distances from corners and seem to park just about
>> anywhere. I believe the intent for meters is that they are going to be
>> required until 9:00 pm.
>> 3. My final concern is for the neighbors who live near the Hope Street
>> area and will have cars parked outside their house. I get frustrated when
>> it is very difficult to get in and out of my driveway due to Chez Pascal
>> traffic or am unable to move one of the cars onto the street to get the
>> other out. Though we've learned to work around it. Because we live close
>> enough to walk to Hope Street, I'm rarely popping into anything with my car
>> unless it's the library on the way home to pick up a book or East Side
>> pharmacy for wine... hmmm, are they getting meters too?
>>
>> Sounds like we'll all need to stock up on our quarters for those short
>> hops.
>>
>> Best,
>> Gayle Gifford
>>
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