[MissoulaGov] Parking Kiosks

[Geoff Badenoch]

I hope we have the wisdom to have the Missoula Parking Commission wade into
the weeds of parking pricing policy first.  Let them set up the information
gathering, the public input, the financial analysis, and all the rest so
that the Commission's experience and expertise is fully utilized to educate
us all.  Differential pricing may be justifiable, but it will be questioned,
most likely by those who are not at the low end of the pricing structure.:-)

Geoff Badenoch

-----Original Message-----
From: missoulagov-bounces at cmslists.com
[mailto:missoulagov-bounces at cmslists.com] On Behalf Of Jason Wiener
Sent: Monday, December 07, 2009 3:03 PM
To: missoulagov at cmslists.com
Subject: Re: [MissoulaGov] Parking Kiosks

I've followed this thread with interest, enough to pitch in my own thoughts.

When we look at parking policy downtown next year, we should be concerned to
set up incentives with pricing of meters and leased spaces as well as fines
that encourage the uses we have just committed to in the downtown master
plan. Parking is not a free resource, but we might want it to be free for
some users; we might want other users to pay the full cost of supplying the
parking. Those are policy decisions that will shape user behavior, from
whether to stop at a downtown store to whether to take the bus to work. We
have preferences clearly expressed in the downtown plan and in other policy
documents on those things. We should be looking at parking technology as a
means to achieving those goals.

Mechanical coin-driven parking meters might not be a technology that allows
all that. Maybe they'll do it just fine. When we have the discussion, I hope
the bigger picture about how to manage the circulation system downtown
informs our decisions.

Regards,
J.