Frustrated residents advocate for more local parking options in Leavenworth

LEAVENWORTH — Over 30 residents attended the June 26 Parking Advisory Committee to join the committee’s preliminary discussion to revisit the idea of a local parking program.

The large turnout was initiated by resident April Welch, who received a parking ticket after parking in a permitted stall. Welch said that the lot had a sign designating farmers market and Lions Club breakfast parking only, sparking confusion. After a frustrating call to the parking department, Welch organized a Facebook event, inviting people to attend the local parking discussion.

“When I brought this up for my parking ticket, I was told that there was no local support. I think the locals just proved you wrong,” said Welch.

The discussion opened with Parking Advisory Committee members, who brought a mixed bag of opinions and ideas. Committee member Jean Dawson referenced the parking system in St. Augustine, Fla., where the parking rate for locals is significantly reduced, and all residents within St. John’s County can register for the local rate. Employees working downtown who are not residents within the county can get a parking garage pass for $32 per month, according to the website. Dawson suggested Leavenworth consider a similar reduced rate for those within the school district boundary.

Agreeing with the extended boundary, committee member Erika Hernandez advocated for free street parking for locals Tues. through Thurs., with the exception of festival periods. Councilmember Anne Hessburg suggested starting small, such as offering one hour of free parking to registered locals.

“If that's really successful, and it's not highly impactful on our staff, we can talk about expanding that. But I think that if we implement something that is too big to start with, it's really hard to rein it in,” said Hessburg.

With low parking inventory in mind, committee member Jesse Boyd feared that pursuing a local parking program would be too challenging to enforce. Boyd suggested that it would be more feasible with a parking garage in place, in which the committee is currently entering the site selection process for.

“Each year we go by without doing this, we're doing a disservice to our community,” Councilmember Travis McMaster argued in support of more swift action. “How many dollars are we going to lose by giving away [spots]? If they use it every day, that's great…They're spending dollars downtown.”

During the public comment period, Chumstick Highway resident Lisa Foster emphasized the fact that many people who are a part of the community cannot afford to live within city limits. When she comes to town to visit friends, run errands and go to restaurants, she typically parks in the residential neighborhoods and walks downtown to avoid the added cost of a parking fee.

“What I would really like to have is a bike path so that I could just bike into town, but we don't have that. I can't safely bike here…I'm thankfully able bodied and I can walk into town, but when I come with my mom…She can't walk that far, and we have to pay for parking,” said Foster.

Chumstick resident Kim Hill told the committee she recently met a friend downtown who wanted to buy her newborn a gift, and she ended up paying $15 for parking, which was the same cost as the gift. Resident Kelly Craig lamented the $7 to $8 she has to pay to park to go to a local massage therapist. Dan’s Market employee and resident Cindy Puckett expressed frustration over non-customers parking in the grocery store’s lot to avoid the price tag.

“There seems to be so much emphasis on revenue and tourism that it makes the word “community” feel a little empty, because what really makes our community are the people who are residents that live in this valley,” said resident Beth Fry.

Resident Jeremy Tremblay said he agreed with Dawson and Hernandez, but thought the committee shouldn’t do anything, based on what he heard from all of the members. However, he did suggest looking into the parking system in Laguna Beach, CA.

“They experience very similar levels of traffic in the summer and during events, and then it's just dead otherwise. And it sucks to get a parking ticket when you're the only car parked in a paid spot,” said Tremblay.

Laguna Beach offers six different types of parking permits with varied restrictions, ranging from $80 to $200 a year in cost: shopper, residential, non-resident university students, non-resident senior/veteran, business/employee, and summer festival. The city also has paid parking rates, but encourages the use of four large lots by offering free parking and trolley rides, which operate every 30 minutes during the busy season.

Similarly, Link Transit operates a Leavenworth Local route, which travels from the free Wilkommen Park and Ride behind Safeway to US-2 and Mill Street. The route leaves every half hour from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and is free. 

Currently, the city only offers residential zone parking permits for those who live in specific defined Residential Zones and parking permits for employees or employers in the center of the Freund Lot, located next to the pool, and the Blewett Lot, which is currently full. The Freund Lot permits are $100 a month.

Many expressed that they were unaware of the free options that are in place prior to the meeting, such as 15 minute parking, ADA street parking, and parking after 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The city offers free parking at Enchantment and Waterfront Parks, and 3-hour parking in the Freund and Enchantment lots.

“I think even if we decide to do absolutely nothing, we do need to do some sort of education and outreach,” said Hernandez.

Resident BeeJay Robinson, who frequents public meetings, admonished residents for not staying updated on the city’s initiatives before complaining. Robinson emphasized that the city’s paid parking system was allowing it to pursue an expensive parking garage with cash. However, Welch expressed frustration over the public meeting’s accessibility.

“I made a list of all the [Facebook] comments of people that said, ‘Have it at a time where people who work can come in,’ and I made the comment when I got here, ‘How many of us are gonna end up with a parking ticket because we attended this meeting because we couldn’t find parking?’” said Welch.

“I parked so far away just to avoid that,” added Tremblay.

Parking Manager Shannon Lemons said it was the first time they’ve had people in attendance, even though parking discussions frequently occur on Facebook. Lemons thanked people for showing up and encouraged more attendance. 

The Parking Advisory Committee meetings are held on the third Thursday of each month at 4 p.m. in City Hall’s Council Chambers. A Zoom option is also available, and can be found on the city website’s calendar. Parking questions can be directed to the parking department: tapp@cityofleavenworth.com. Ways to direct city-related questions, comments and complaints can also be found at https://cityofleavenworth.com/how-do-i/.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media