Idiots all. Laconia, NH has had a dying “downtown” for decades. They did an “urban renewal” in an attempt to bring in more shoppers. They even built a parking structure where they could leave their cars in order to visit the local shops. Thus far, the only constant is an ever circling set of shops that remain shuttered – dark and empty. So for this latest seemingly never-ending saga, what is the latest brilliant idea that the City Fathers have to “entice” people to come downtown? Yeah, you know where this is going, dontcha (reformatted, emphasis mine):
Days could be numbered for some free downtown parking
LACONIA — All-day parking downtown, now free, would come at a cost under a proposal being considered by the City Council. City Manager Scott Myers unveiled a plan Monday night to also step up enforcement of parking regulations and to more than double the cost of parking tickets…“Public parking spaces, whether on-street, in a garage or in a surface parking lot, are a valuable commodity for municipalities and should be managed in a way that supports the needs of residents, business owners and visitors alike,” a staff report stated. “In line with that thinking, financial support for the upkeep and improvements to a parking system must also be considered.”…
So what I have watched from afar happening in Concord, I’ll now be able to watch from much closer (as well as the seemingly never-ending saga of the City Fathers pouring more money into the Colonial Theater rebirth effort which is ALSO still being run on Hope as a strategy. Great, just great. So now they want to put a “tax” (of sorts) to make it more expensive for people they want to come downtown. Go ahead, think about that. Again. And they want to soak everyone for the privilege of visiting…
Oh, wait – not EVERYone. Of COURSE, the case isn’t EVERYONE – you see, Laconia has SPECIAL folks:
Parking tickets, now $10, would increase to $25. A new employee would be hired to do year-round parking enforcement, which is currently done only in the summer. People who move from short-term spot to short-term spot to exceed the two-hour restriction would also be subject to tickets. Under the proposal, those wishing to park downtown for more than two hours would need a permit that would cost $50 a month. Two-hour parking would remain free. Yet to be determined is what to do about visitors who need to park for longer than two hours.
City employees would continue to get free all-day parking.
So those that work downtown – pay up. Moving around to avoid the meter maid – pay up. City employees parking all day – will pay…wait for it…
Nothing
At all.
Why? Why should city government works get a “get out of parking jail free” card? Are their cars more important than the private sector workers? Are they more important people than the visitors/tourists that now may go “pay WHAT?” in this rather small downtown area (about 6-8 blocks, mostly in that silly “U” shape from the “urban renewal” government experiment that did bupkiss for actual results)? Are their jobs more important than the financial infusion that drivers into downtown give?
Have any these folks ever learned the economics lesson that if you want less of something, tax it?
Just like those that go into government work after college who get their student loans “forgiven”, we see the “class” system at work – better grift for public sector even as it is the private sector paying the financial freight for them to have these perks. Pay up and pay up again, rubes is the message that is being sent.
Right now, there is NO real reason why I need to go downtown unless I’m just going from one side of Laconia to the other. There might have been some reasons but no longer – it isn’t economically worth it when the downtown shops don’t offer anything I need or want.
I’ll leave it here with these bon mots from the piece:
SHOT: All-day parking is at a premium now, said Mayor Ed Engler. “There is more demand than there is supply, and that’s a problem,” he said.
CHASER: A trip downtown at 1 p.m. Tuesday showed many open two-hour parking spots and many vacant storefronts. The long-term surface parking lot outside City Hall [er, Government workers?] was mostly full. Spots were available in the city parking garage, which offers long-term parking.
Hangover: City leaders hope the long-awaited refurbishment of the Colonial Theatre will spur development downtown, increasing the need for parking.
Sure thing, Ed…
(H/T: Daily Sun)
