A Penny for Your Thoughts

But how much to park downtown?

The debate intensifies this week, as a bunch of downtown business owners battle the proposed increase from 25 to 50 cents an hour. For those who need a recap, the city wants to pass the increase in order to get cars of employees of downtown business off the streets and into the garages.

The rebellious business owners say it's tough enough right now to get people downtown, and they don't want to see it made even tougher.

We advocate getting rid of the meters and sticking to a strict two-hour time limit. If you need more than two hours, park in a garage. If less, enjoy the wonderful street parking.

The one possible drawback here is loss in revenue. We'd like to think that the $10 tickets slapped on offenders would fill in most or all of that gap. It would also drive current offenders into the garages, maintaining their current meter fees through garage fees.

Really, this seems so simple. Why is it so hard?