City aims to improve parking availablity with new meters

Struggling business turnover

An estimated 200 new businesses have moved into downtown Kent since the city’s redevelopment project began in 2011 according to Bridget Susel, Community Development Director for the City of Kent and Parking Action Committee representative. While businesses have the potential to benefit from the growing number of visitors and economic activity, smaller businesses are struggling for turnover.

“What happens is rather than staying in the two-hour parking for only two hours, some of the all-day employees are parking on the street,” Susel said. “That makes it challenging for new businesses that have come in that rely on quick turnover for customers.”

The city will soon install 223 parking meters downtown to help alleviate parking issues. The city’s installation goal is quickly approaching. City leaders told merchants the meters would be up and running by the 2014 holiday shopping season.

Michelle Sahr owns Off the Wagon, a toy store located at 152 E. Main Street. Sahr said downtown shop employees park in the spots on Main Street, taking up spots for customers in front of her store. She said she believes the new meters will help solve this problem.

“Less employees are going to be parking in the main spots and that will leave it open for customers and that’s the goal,” Sahr said.

While she thinks parking is an issue, Sahr said she does not receive many complaints from customers.

“We did have a guy the other day who came in and he said, ‘I’m so glad they’re putting the parking meters in because it’ll be so much easier to park,’” Sahr said.

However, not all business owners are happy about the meters. John Simon, a business owner at 300 North Water Street, expressed concerns in front of Kent City Council on Wednesday, November 5.

“The main thing we’re afraid of,” Simon told council. “I have most of the day-time traffic in there.”

Simon said there is currently three-hour parking and B Permits near his business. B Permits cost $5 per month and allow long-term parking in designated areas. Simon said he is concerned that people will use the spots in front of his business to avoid paying at the incoming meters.

Susel said the Parking Action Committee will not meet to review permits and discuss changes until late December.

“That’s part of that review,” Susel told council. “Looking at all the permits, how many are being sold and where those people are parking.”

Ward 6 Council Member Tracy Wallach asked Simon if his business would be ok until the Parking Action Committee meets.

“Well again, we won’t know until after the meters go in and then if everybody’s gonna run and get a B parking permit,” Simon  replied.

Still, Susel said she receives mostly positive feedback from business owners and residents about the new meters.

“For every complaint [about the incoming meters] I get, I get ten people that tell me we need them,” Susel said.

Parking tickets

Brian Huff, Controller for the City of Kent, said on average, the city collects about seven to eight thousand dollars per month.

“It’s kind of hard to predict at this point what kind of money those [meters] are going to bring in,” Huff said.

The ticket money, in part, goes towards paying parking enforcement officers. Currently there is one full time parking attendant at the Kent Police Department. Huff said with the addition of the meters, there is talk of hiring a second attendant to issue tickets.

Kent Police Lieutenant Jim Prusha said the new meters will help increase efficiency of parking enforcement.

“When a meter is expired, it’s really obvious that somebody’s in violation,” Prusha said. “Whereas that one parked there [pointing to a car downtown], we don’t know if it’s been there two hours or not at this point.”

The current parking enforcement system is  chalking tires.

The “smart” meters will operate through a computer program to allow parking enforcement to monitor the exact times cars come and go, alerting a parking enforcement officer when drivers exceed their time limit.

Meter Money

The price of parking at a meter will be $1 per hour with a two-hour limit, though residents can insert coins to pay a smaller amount and park for less than an hour as well. The meters will be active Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The meters take coins, credit and debit cards.

According to Susel, the total cost of the project is about $230,000 dollars, the cost includes purchasing the meters themselves, acquisition of the posts and installation.

Any revenue after maintenance costs and monthly service fees, Susel said, will be put into a reserve fund. Susel said about six to eight months later, City Council will meet to decide what to do with those funds, if there are any.

“Most likely will go towards supporting other parking issues, like plowing snow off of lots and street parking,” Susel said.