Pay to park in downtown Truckee? Seriously, who do they think they are, San Francisco? I live 20 miles away on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe, so my primary exposure to paying to park in Truckee was through letters to the editor from those complaining about it. I decided it was time to investigate: why is there paid parking in downtown Truckee and is it working?
The Problem:
Parking spaces on Commercial Row in downtown Truckee are a rare commodity. Most businesses have no parking of their own and depend upon limited street parking and a number of small lots tucked around downtown. Some of these lots are owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, which for years has leased them to individual businesses or groups of businesses.
Finding a parking spot downtown has been a challenge for a long time and many business owners felt that the lack of parking cost them business. Downtown merchants clamored for something to be done.
Fuel was added to the fire when the Railroad doubled lease fees for their parking lots (as well as other land they own) starting in 2000. In 2003 the Town of Truckee and downtown merchants decided they could no longer afford to make these lease payments and the Railroad responded by declaring they would barricade the parking lots for public use if rent was not paid.
The Solution:
Two options were evaluated by the Town and downtown merchants to deal with the parking problem. One option was to have all businesses downtown agree to contribute money to pay for existing leased parking lots and additional parking. But the Town and the merchant association came to the realization that the majority of businesses would not agree to tax themselves for such an arrangement. Instead they implemented the second option: a paid parking program, which would require those who use the parking spaces to pay for the cost of providing them. In addition to instituting paid parking downtown, the program provided for employee parking lots away from the main commercial core. The goal was that money gathered from parking fees and fines would pay for the town’s parking staff, leases on parking areas and snow removal, as well as for the purchase and maintenance of additional parking areas.
Stephanie Olivieri, who owns Cabona’s on Commercial Row, says that paid parking is misunderstood by the public. ‘We have less parking spaces than we should have by a considerable amount. We had a major parking problem. Customers complained about it time and time again. People wouldn’t come downtown because there wasn’t a place to park.’ And what really caused the problem? According to Olivieri, ‘on any given day, half the spaces were filled with employees.’
Paid parking has been in effect in downtown Truckee since October 2005. To avoid having hundreds of meters downtown, the Town of Truckee went with a system of multi-space parking kiosks. You park your car, and if its between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. when payment is required, you walk over to the nearest machine, put coins or a credit card into the machine, get a ticket and then place it on your dashboard. There are several different discount plans available for regular parkers, and some merchants will reimburse you for the cost of parking if you come in the store and ask for it.
Kelly Beede, the Town of Truckee’s Parking Services Manager, says the parking machines have been very reliable and that they do not receive many complaints. ‘Most people have been able to figure them out,’ she says. Beede asserts that they have also received phone calls from people who have been visiting Truckee for years who say, ‘this time I was able to find a place right in front of the business, when before I had to walk or couldn’t find a place at all.’ Beede says that the focus of the parking program is not on dishing out tickets, but on helping people understand and support the system.
Is It Working?
Just 10 days before Christmas, after the first major snowstorm of the season, I drove to downtown Truckee to test the parking system. While about 70 percent of the parking spaces were taken I had no trouble finding a spot just across the street from Cabona’s. I walked about 20 feet to the nearest parking kiosk, which was plainly marked, and stared at the machine for a minute with a befuddled look on my face. Eventually I figured out where I could plunk in a few quarters, pushed a button and a receipt popped out. Then I tromped back through the snow to my car and put the receipt inside. It took me about three minutes. Not bad if you have plans to hang out downtown for an hour, but a royal pain if you are in a hurry and just wanted to quickly stop and pick something up. I then stood on the street and watched people confront the parking situation. The first couple I watched got out of their car, started walking towards a shop and then saw the sign to pay for parking. They went back to the car, dug around for some change, went back to the machine, pointed at it a few times, scratched their heads and then put a few quarters in. It didn’t appear to be a painful experience, but it certainly was mildly inconvenient.
Beede says she believes that over 75 percent of the merchants now support the parking program. ‘We had about 300,000 transactions in ‘07/‘08 and only wrote 3,500 tickets. Parking enforcement officers are parking ambassadors. We have a light-handed approach on parking enforcement and have a pretty high compliance rate.’
Olivieri says, ‘I think the program has worked tremendously. It got the employees off the main street. You can find a parking space.’ She understands that ‘it is a deterrent to some people and can be inconvenient,’ but urges people to ‘weigh that against the problem of wondering around looking for a space. You can’t have it both ways.’
Mike Preaseau owner of The Cooking Gallery on Commercial Row said that he ‘understands the reasons behind it, and felt it was the right decision. It really helped get the employees out of the parking spaces and customers were excited that they could find parking.’ But now that the economy is slower, and unfortunately parking spots are not as much of a premium as they used to be, he is concerned that it may be hurting business. He expresses frustration that many locals are opposed to the parking plan. ‘If I can take 30 minutes to explain all the reasons behind it, people understand, but who has the time to do that?’
How Can It Be Improved?
Truckee resident and commercial realtor Mike Dunsford says he has adjusted to the parking system but he feels that, ‘climbing over berms in a snowstorm seems like a real nuisance to visitors. Especially people not dressed for the conditions. I’m sure there is a real frustration factor there. Considering all the costs in lost business I am not sure if it is worth it or not.
Perhaps they could make it seasonable, just have it in the summer when people don’t have to climb over snowbanks.’
Dwight McCarthy longtime Truckee resident says, ‘Many locals time their visits to downtown to avoid having to pay to park.’ He agrees with Dunsford, ‘Using these stations is pretty awkward and inconvenient for out of towners. Whatever is a benefit to the economy of Truckee I am for, I’m just not sure if this is it.’
There seems to be ambivalence regarding the paid parking from many Truckee residents. They see the benefits, but worry about the costs. Some question why the machines don’t take dollar bills (because they frequently jam). Now you have to find and plunk down quarters, which many people no longer carry, or pay the $2 minimum to use your credit card.
Additional education for the public on the parking system and on the merchant rebates is key. The Town’s website is very helpful, but perhaps making the machines more user-friendly would be a big step in the right direction. In regards to the rebate program provided by downtown merchants, I’m sure many customers feel uncomfortable (and like a cheapskate) having to ask a merchant for a dollar rebate. They may just save the buck and decide to park elsewhere. Perhaps a simpler system of validation by merchants could be created so that customers don’t have to feel like they are begging for dollars.
There really is no definitive answer on whether paid parking is working in Truckee. It does appear that it is easier to find a place to park on Commercial Row than it used to be. Much of this is probably related to employees parking somewhere else. But a slower economy, ads espousing ‘free parking’ from businesses outside of the commercial core, and a desire from some locals to avoid having to face the hassle of the machines are also certainly factors.
