HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-14-22 Public Comment - A. Kirkland - Paid parking in downtown BozemanFrom:Amy Kirkland
To:Agenda
Subject:Paid parking in downtown Bozeman
Date:Monday, February 14, 2022 1:29:36 PM
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To our City Leaders,
I would like to add my name to what I'm sure is a long list of downtown business owners who
don't love the idea of paid parking on Main Street. Among the many reasons, the mostimportant is that I wouldn't want to see the locals abandoning our special downtown
because they don't want to pay for parking.
The first summer I was open in this location (between Black & Bozeman Aves.) was the yearMain St. was closed for repaving and it was among the scariest, slowest times of my 17 years
in business (and that includes a Global Recession and a Worldwide Pandemic!) Downtownwas closed to traffic from Memorial Day to Labor Day in a time when those were the only real
busy months of the year. The locals didn't want the hassle of coming downtown to aconstruction zone and it took awhile to get them to come back. As busy as Bozeman is getting,
we still have long slow periods when we rely on the local community's support and if theygive up on our downtown, it could spell disaster for many of our small, independent
businesses (and aren't those what makes Bozeman so special?)
It also seems like the hotels have taken up a lot of the spaces in the garage which just adds tothe already difficult parking situation downtown. If another parking garage is the answer, and I
think it is, I would urge you to find the funding in any way possible that does not involvecharging people to park on Main St. and therefore turning us into a tourist only downtown that
feels like any other in the Rocky Mountain West.
We are lucky that our locals still want to spend their time and money in this beautifuldowntown that is uniquely Bozeman. I'd really miss them if they went away.
Thank you for your time,
~Amy Kirkland
Altitude Gallery
134 E. Main St.Bozeman, MT 59715
406.582.4472www.altitudegallerybozeman.com