In considering reinstatement of parking enforcement downtown, city officials are seeking a solution for a problem that does not exist and they are doing so, curiously, after the recent opening of the new Highway 25 bypass, intended to reduce traffic in that same merchant-heavy area.
City leaders have reconsidered parking enforcement downtown after stopping it five years ago in response to a Hollister Downtown Association request. The organization has noted how some businesses downtown complain about a lack of available parking because merchants’ employees and local offices’ clients often use many of the spaces.
We encourage city council members to reject this proposal. At the very least, council members should put off this idea until a more conclusive analysis of the bypass’ effect is done.
The main reasons for disapproval, aside from the citations acting as an irritant to just about everybody but those few shop owners, include the following:
– Parking availability is not a problem downtown, and it usually does not take long to find a spot near just about any destination.
– Enforcement does not appear to offer a positive revenue potential, at least anytime soon, and city leaders should focus taxpayer dollars on more pressing matters.
– The long-awaited Highway 25 bypass just opened. It’s the same road that city and county officials have contended will lead to fewer vehicles and more pedestrians downtown. Judging the bypass’ effectiveness to that end, meanwhile, should take much longer than the couple of weeks it has been opened. In theory, there should be fewer vehicles downtown as drivers move toward using the bypass more often.
A more prudent solution for the minority of distressed owners is to foster more cooperation among downtown merchants – through the HDA – in getting businesses’ owners and employees in that area to park farther away or to routinely use the Briggs Building parking garage.
