Parking meters
Thank you to Cathy Robbins whose article in the Monday, Nov. 17 issue of the Times Observer was one similar to “the” letter that I have intended to write for several weeks.
Parking meters at the Post Office! Really? From towns where I have lived, Ambler/Fort Washington, Pa. to a favorite vacation destination, the tiny town of Jefferson, Maine, there are free parking lots. Warren has never had a parking lot, to my knowledge, but at least there were “free” designated spots for postal customers. The placement of these meters goes beyond greed. They quite simply ignore the needs and convenience of postal customers. The same is true of parking meters at the Warren Public Library. The aforementioned towns also have free parking for library patrons.
I frequently visit Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where there are many free parking spaces available, both two-hour and four-hour. It is a welcoming place to shop and enjoy the sights!
Welcome to Warren where our new Streetscape awaits you along with parking meter fees and/or substantial fines! For a town which has supposedly been trying to revitalize its downtown area, it seems uninviting even to those who currently patronize businesses in town.
Tourists may come once but when they discover the “unwelcome” pay-to-visit scenario, they will not return.
Good luck on “growing” Warren!
Sincerely,
Barbara Boger
Warren
Parking meters
I guess I will have to read the newspapers more closely because I didn’t realize that they were putting parking meters that you can only use for 15 minutes in the most used parking spaces downtown. When did you last get a hair cut that only lasted 15 minutes, have a prescription filled (providing there was no one ahead of you), get a cup of coffee, eat a meal, look through a book store, buy anything without taking longer than 15 minutes? If you have an appointment with a business, go to the bank, consult your lawyer, try on clothes, make a decision about which lottery number to choose, or try to make a purchase behind someone who talks or takes their time making their purchase. You know how frustrating it can be.
I have very think hair and when I get a perm and the beautician has to roll it up in curlers, then put the solution, wait, rinse it out, dry my hair and set it, it takes more than two hours. If I weren’t lucky enough to have a handicap card then I would be getting a ticket. I do ride the bus but you can’t just call at the last minute to get it.
They say they are trying to revitalize the downtown district. How are they doing that if they are driving customers away? I realize that I am trying to “lock the barn after the horses get out” but I really didn’t think they would go through with the plan to put in meters. They had them before and removed them because they felt it discouraged people from buying downtown. Then they put them back. Is this supposed to attract people?
Glad I am not a downtown merchant.
Jeannette McDunn
Warren