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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Gookin wants to end free 2-hour parking

In an op-ed column in today's Coeur d'Alene Press, Coeur d'Alene Councilman Dan Gookin calls for an end to two-hour free parking downtown:

"The policy was originally set in place to encourage downtown parking and shopping. I would offer that it’s had the opposite effect.

"For example, I believe the two-hour free policy is directly responsible for employees parking in customers’ spaces. It generates frustration, as I have experienced, when you enjoy eating a long lunch or shopping downtown only to find that you’ve been ticketed for what you otherwise thought was free. And the necessity of getting a two-hour “free” pass from the maddening parking machines at McEuen annoys everyone.

"Changing the policy to require first-minute payment would eliminate the issue with employees parking in customer spots and moving their cars every two hours." More here.

DFO: Gookin is trying to fix a problem that doesn't exist. I rarely have problems finding a parking space in downtown Coeur d'Alene. And I like the idea of free parking for two hours. I don't want to pay for parking because some store employees are filling space. I doubt that's the case in the McEuen Parking garage. Also, I wonder how much it would cost the city to implement Gookin's plan to fix a problem that doesn't exist? Hundreds of thousands? The city has a good handle on parking now, esp. with the new paid parking behind Memorial Field and the proposed city-county lot farther to the north. Methinks Gookin's on another Wild Goose Chase.

Question: Do you think we should end free, two-hour parking downtown?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

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