HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-24-23 Public Comment - A. Deal - Paid Parking Public CommentFrom:anna@lockhornhardcider.com
To:Agenda
Cc:Ellie Staley
Subject:Paid Parking Public Comment
Date:Tuesday, January 24, 2023 5:47:49 PM
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My name is Anna Deal, owner of Lockhorn Hard Cider on the East end of Main Street.
I would like to voice my support of the report generated by the work session this month from business owners. I wasnot able to participate in the work session, but agree with their conclusion that paid parking is not the right solutionat this time.
I am extremely concerned that paid parking will hurt downtown businesses and the culture and vitality ofdowntown, especially as we continue to experience financially challenging times.
I agree 100% that Downtown businesses can not afford to lose 10% of visitation (as listed in the assumptions of the2021 study) because of paid parking, given that our margins are less than 10%.
There are several flaws in the report that I have voiced in the past. Most importantly, it is a snapshot of a high pointin MT tourism driven by a reaction to Covid and low gas prices where people drove to Yellowstone rather thantraveling oversees, and they had excess cash from federal stimulus money.
In contrast, our visitation in summer of 2021 was 13% lower in 2022 than in 2021.
If you are basing your decision on a study, but the year when it was conducted showed uncharacteristically highparking density, then I question that decision.In addition, several parking spaces that show as “occupied” are actually not parking spaces, but painted yellow forsight triangles or were “occupied” by construction dumpsters.
My reading of the report is that the consultants were striving for a result that would justify the desires of their client.In this case, 85% occupancy in order to justify paid parking, but it was tough to reach that threshold, even with thehuge influx of visitors that summer and some artistic license with how spaces were counted.
Once the meters are installed, they will need to stay in order to recoup the capital cost and the payback will not lookas good if 2021 was an anomaly. Interest rates have also doubled since then, making the economics less attractive.I would like to emphasize that if a decision to implement paid parking is approved that it be only for the summermonths and never in the winter when we struggle to keep our doors open and rely almost entirely on local support.
I am extremely concerned that people will opt to shop and eat elsewhere, including online rather than pay to parkdowntown.
I predict that paid parking will further gentrify Downtown and we will lose that friendly, local, authentic andaccessible feel that both residents and visitors love and come here for and we will become just another overpricedtourist trap.
Respectfully,Anna Deal
Anna DealLockHorn Hard Cider - Owneranna@lockhornhardcider.com
907-244-7909