HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-28-22 Public Comment - E. Bowman - Transportation Board Public Commetn for 9-28 MeetingFrom:Eric Bowman
To:Agenda
Subject:Transportation Board Public Comment for 9/28 Meeting
Date:Wednesday, September 28, 2022 4:32:20 PM
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Hello Transportation Board
This email contains my personal thoughts and concerns pertaining to paid parking in Downtown
Bozeman. I am a property owner, I own and operate Owenhouse Ace Hardware and Owenhouse Cycling
in Downtown, and have served on the Business Improvement District board for many years.
I am not opposed to the idea of paid parking downtown but at this time I would urge the Transportation
Board not to support the city's proposal for on-street paid parking for the following reasons
#1 - Employee parking is a huge issue and a program needs to be identified and shared with the
downtown community prior to authorizing the city to proceed with a paid parking program. Both the
constituents of downtown and the commission identified this as a major concern and the city has
responded by telling us that they will pause on vetting an employee parking program until after on street
paid parking is approved. I know time and resources are tight at the city but it is essential that this
program be identified and vetted prior to approval, not the other way around.
#2 - I do agree that to solve current and future parking challenges downtown we will need a revenue
stream and that will undoubtedly come from a paid parking program. There are two important pieces to
the revenue equation for me. One is that any revenue generated from paid parking in downtown needs to
stay in and be used for the benefit of the downtown core. No where in the memorandum does it state that
it is to be used explicitly for the benefit of downtown. Downtown shoppers should not be shouldering the
cost of upgrading alternate transportation nodes on the west side of town. The money should be used to
enhance access to and from downtown. Second is the paid parking program should be tailored to meet the
revenue needs in order to soften the impact of the new program. The city should not be approaching this
program with a "how much revenue can we bring in" attitude and focus on mitigating the impacts for the
businesses and property owners who stand to lose customers as a result of this program. Look for an
opportunity to offer some free time both on street and in the garage to help local folks still use downtown
as a convenient stop even if that means less overall revenue.
Implementing paid parking is a big step and will have big implications for all of us in the downtown area
and while I don't expect city staff to be able to solve every problem prior to installation, I do think it's
reasonable for some of the more important solutions to be vetted prior to approval. I fail to see the
downside of moving slowly and methodically when the stakes are this high.
Respectfully,
--
Eric Bowman
www.owenhouse.com
www.owenhousecycling.com