[poll id=”83″]
There’s a push for free, two-hour parking in downtown Greensboro led by business owners and Downtown Greensboro Inc. Do you support it? Tell us why or why not in the comments! We’ll publish the results in the next print issue of Triad City Beat.
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I support it if the downtown businesses feel there is a benefit. I don’t support it if that means the city will increase the effort to fine those who hit the limit… the parking enforcement officer better not be standing/waiting by the vehicle for the clock to hit 2. Honestly, I feel parking is a red herring for downtown. Everyone says that parking is impossible to find when they visit downtown. Experiencing other urban communities, GSO has plenty of inexpensive parking. Of course I understand the businesses/especially retail are competing with shopping centers that have plenty of free parking in front of each venue. Urban communities are meant to be walkable (not to be driven from place to place within 1/4mi). The problem is public education, reliable/easy to use payment options, and a supplemental system to move people from point A to B without their cars. The latter could be bike share, short route public transit (i.e. bus trolley), or pedicabs (which I realize was attempted and failed as a business). But if free parking allows more people to get over the worry of finding a space and to get happily lost meandering downtown, then do it.
I’m all for free parking, but I hope there’d be transparency from the city about where that expected revenue would come from instead.