Sandpoint business owners, residents and tourists divided on suspension of parking kiosks in downtown streets

Along First and Second avenues in Sandpoint, about 25 parking kiosks costing the city $230,000 were wrapped last week with black trash bags.

Some business owners, residents and tourists claim the kiosks, which were installed earlier this month, are bad for business and discourage shoppers from exploring the variety of storefronts downtown. Others say the kiosks have improved the flow of traffic and the money generated from them could be beneficial for the city.

The first two hours of parking are free but drivers still need to check in at the kiosk. Subsequent time can be purchased for $4 an hour.

Sandpoint Mayor Jeremy Grimm said the kiosks downtown made $10,000 for Sandpoint in just the first five days of operation. But during a regular meeting Wednesday, the Sandpoint City Council decided to suspend the use of on-street parking kiosks within the downtown two-hour parking district for further evaluation. Everyone on the council, except City Council President Deb Ruehle, voted in favor of putting a pause on the kiosks.

“I’m disappointed because we put so much effort and hard work into this, and we did meet the call of business owners,” Ruehle said.

Ruehle, who also works as a physical therapist , said she has heard complaints from business owners for years about the stagnation of the downtown scene. Owners have urged the council, she said, to implement a way to encourage higher turnover and keeping the flow of shoppers moving.

With the kiosks in place “you could no longer do what they call the two-hour shuffle,” Ruehle said.

Because parking downtown is designated for two hours at a time, the “two-hour shuffle” refers to visitors moving their car to a new parking spot when the two hours is up to avoid getting a ticket from a parking enforcement officer.

When the kiosks were operational, Ruehle said people forgot that their first two hours were still free as long as they registered online.

“The two hours of free parking were still allowed, but what those kiosks did was provide an opportunity,” Grimm said. “If somebody wanted to stay more than two hours, you could purchase additional time.”

Grimm said some of the kiosks have been “vandalized,” although he uses that word lightly. A couple of them had stickers on them, some had a gluelike substance on them, and one had the solar panel ripped off of it and an ice-cream cone shoved inside. Another was noticeably damaged with a screwdriver.

“The majority of the revenue (from parking) is coming from our city beach and our city parking lot,” Grimm said. “The actual on-street revenue is a very small proportion, less than 10% of all the revenue we’ve collected to date. It’s my hope, as mayor, that the money will help to enhance and beautify our downtown. Things like flower baskets. The city spends about $40,000 a year on flower baskets to install and water them.”

Ruehle, meanwhile, said the money generated from the kiosks downtown were designated to reimburse the city for the $230,000 it cost to install them.

“The meters pay off themselves,” Ruehle said. “But if you have two hours free, how many people are going to pay for the extra? They weren’t going to be a big revenue generator. The way they generate revenue in a more broader, bigger picture sense, is paying the store owners back in the sense of they’re getting what they ask for: efficiency and enforcement.”

Additional funds from the kiosks were earmarked for repainting parking lines, fixing streets and other general maintenance needs.

Jackey Doty has been the manager at Blue Lizard Native American Gallery on the corner of Cedar and First for the past 18 years. She believes that their store and others in the area have seen a 20% drop in sales this year compared to last.

Ruehle argues business owners aren’t accounting for other factors, such as the rising cost of gas, the state of the economy and tourists being unwilling to visit Sandpoint because of their personal financial situation.

Doty said she’s had at least one customer a day come into Blue Lizard and complain about the kiosks since the start of the month.

“It’s definitely hurt our business,” Doty said. “For them to start this in July is insane.”

The kiosks were rolled out July 1 onto First Avenue, Second Avenue and the connecting side roads. Since July and August are the busiest part of tourist season, she said it’s unwise to “do that kind of stuff in the dead of summer.”

Down the street from the Blue Lizard, Jorden Carlson, the manager at the 7B Boardshop, said he’s supportive of the kiosks if the money is invested into fixing roads and similar improvement projects.

“We have noticed that freeing up spots brings more people in,” Carlson said. “The people who are spending most of their time down here tend to be tourists.”

When it comes to Doty’s claim of businesses seeing a 20% drop in customers, Carlson said it probably depends on their business model. His shop stays busy with people looking for supplies for a day at the beach, like sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, towels, bikinis and other beach essentials.

“I think that it improved the flow of traffic around here and parking,” Carlson said. “I have heard complaints about the operation itself with the kiosk. There’s been complaints of not registering correctly or (the kiosk) wanting payment. And, you know, the parking is free, so you shouldn’t have to enter your card if you’re just going to use 30 minutes of the two-hour free parking to come in and out of a store.”

Ruehle admitted the city “totally botched” rolling out the kiosks. Some parkers have given up on the kiosks after being unable to receive free parking.

“There’s signs that still say ‘two hours free,’ ” Ruehle said. “The kiosks were glitched. There was a lot of frustration. I don’t think the message is as clear as it could have been. That’s totally on the city.”

Diagonally from the Blue Lizard Native American Gallery is the Bluebird Bakery. Jill Severson, the owner of Bluebird Bakery since its opening in 2019, said she doesn’t think people should have to pay to park in Sandpoint. Even though Third Street and streets down the block still have free parking since July 1, the kiosks have been a nuisance not only for customers to figure out, but also for her employees.

“I think (the City Council) just needs to figure out what they’re gonna do and try to make it make sense,” Severson said.

Regan and Alan Riabko of Calgary, Alberta, have vacationed in Sandpoint every year for the past 26 years. Regan, a recently retired nurse, said she saw the trash bags over the kiosks, but had no idea what they were about.

“I don’t think I’d come down here if I had to pay to park,” she said.

When she’s forced to pay to park, Regan said she’s “constantly thinking, ‘hurry, hurry, hurry.’ ”

But without that added pressure, she feels free to look inside every shop and at every item she can.

“Right now, I don’t have a worry in the world,” she said on a warm afternoon in Sandpoint.

“You drive all the way here and you frequent the stores and the restaurants,” Alan added. “You pay enough with that.”

For now, the kiosks will remain covered with black trash bags. The Sandpoint City Council will convene Aug. 5 to decide the fate of the controversial parking meters.