Wednesday, February 4, 2009

meter, meter not everywhere

It happens every Monday through Friday in the big river.
Three to four meter maids leave the streets and stroll back into Government Center. It is usually around 4:30 to 5 p.m.
And as they do, cars citywide, get to park for free.
As citizens, perhaps it is a good thing that the city does not collect meter revenues, on weekends and at night, but one only has to wonder if the city leaders will look to fill budget deficits with the revenue lost from meters on weekends.
It could easily add another million per year in revenue, not all from the initial 5-10 ticket, but the late fee fines which can reach more than $1,000. The late Tom Sewell delighted in telling the story about a local female reporter for the Providence journal who ran up more than $2000 in parking tickets and vowed to avoid fall river forever once she was reassigned to Rhode Island.
But I digress.
The meters are also a mystery of sorts as far as which streets have them and which don’t.
For example, Both South and North Main Streets are lined with meters. But you won’t find many if any on Bedford and Pleasant, after a long ago brokered deal by local merchants apparently in the late 1980’s .
The same is true about Columbia Street and along most areas around Charlton but not all areas around St. Anne’s Hospital.
Not sure why in all cases and how much sway there exists currently about meters and no metered spots, but one thing remains true, no matter how many meters the city ends up having, it does nothing to mask the fact that the city needs more parking.
But I digress .
The point is, with lots of businesses disappearing from the commercial streets, will meter revenue drop, will parking become easier, lots go unrented, meters unfilled and city leaders left with more negative math than they can comprehend.
But at least we will be able to find a spot.

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