After handing out parking violation warnings for the last two
weeks, police Wednesday started slapping $30 tickets on cars
downtown.
Gilroy – After handing out parking violation warnings for the last two weeks, police Wednesday started slapping $30 tickets on cars downtown.
Police meted out just four tickets on the first day of parking enforcement along the Monterey Street corridor. The new program met with mixed reviews, with some shoppers and workers in support and others railing against it.
“I think it’s good,” said Amelia Mello, a Gilroy resident who works out at Planet Fitness in the heart of the historic business district. “It should be for people like us to have the convenience of parking, not the employees. They should have employees park in lots.”
The sentiment was echoed by Karen Covington, a barista at Sue’s Coffee Roasting Company at the corner of Fifth and Monterey streets. After unloading her car in front of the shop, Covington had to move her car to a space off a nearby alley.
“It’s a total inconvenience for me, but it’s OK,” she said. “I know they need the parking for the people. We need customers.”
Traffic enforcement emerged as a hot topic downtown in the past six months as officials’ fears materialized about a newly remodeled downtown. The city spent more than $1 million to repave the street and create sprawling new sidewalks, but the spots facing storefronts along the street were being monopolized by dozens of employees.
After months of tug-of-war with a number of business owners, the city has pushed forward with enforcement of two-hour parking limits along a corridor of Monterey Street between Sixth and Fourth streets.
The prospect of parking tickets infuriated bowlers in the Coffee Breaker’s women’s league. Several of them parked two or three blocks away for fear of ticketing.
“Before I will play the game with two-hour parking, I will go to Morgan Hill and do my bowling and shopping there,” said Peggy Setzler, an east Gilroy resident. The city’s done a good job of letting us know they don’t want us here.”
Setzler and other bowlers were loathe to park in alleys and lots off the main street, expressing concerns about safety. In response to similar fears expressed by some female employees in the areas, the city has installed additional lighting in lots and alleys off Monterey Street.
“They want us to park in these back alleys?” Setzler added. “What about the guy that was just killed a few weeks ago?”
A man was stabbed early Sunday morning in an alley three blocks south of the bowling alley. The murder is the first to take place in the area in years.
Joyce Milla, an employee at Gilroy Bowl, pointed to concerns about convenience – rather than safety – as the biggest threat to the business.
“We needed to do something (about the parking situation),” she said, “but how do you figure anyone can bowl in two hours? There are a lot of seniors that play here. They’re not going to walk three blocks with a bowling ball.”
Downtown residents share similar concerns, according to Joe Mattos, owner of the Milias Apartments at the corner of Monterey and Sixth streets.
“We have 10 or 12 seniors that have difficulty getting around, and if they have to park a long distance away, it’s difficult for them to get in,” he said. “Safety seems to be a big issue. They’re afraid of having to park a distance away and having to walk to the apartments at night.”
Such concerns led to calls a year ago for a variety of alternative solutions, including parking permits for residents and three-hour parking spaces for bowlers.
The proposals were quashed by police who argued it would prove unwieldy to enforce, according to Mayor Al Pinheiro.
“Because of logistics, the council decided that two-hour parking is what it should be,” Pinheiro said, adding, “Until the days we have meters, I don’t see another alternative. There’s always going to be somebody that’s going to be adversely affected, and I’m sorry we can’t make something that addresses everyone’s needs.”
Police did not begin chalking tires until 2pm Wednesday and therefore only issued four tickets by late afternoon. Officers plan to visit the area on a more regular schedule in coming days, according to Community Service Officer Gary Muraoka.
“We’ll be going out in the morning time and doing several follow ups several hours later to check to see if the vehicles have been moved,” Muraoka said. “The main thing is to try to get turnover for the downtown parking for customers so it’s not taken up by just a few people.”
Violators face a $30 administrative citation that can be appealed by writing to the police department. Roughly $25 of that fee goes to the city’s general fund, while the remainder goes to a ticket processing vendor and the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
The police department plans to report back to council in three months about the program’s effectiveness. If necessary, Muraoka said they will recommend changes to the program such as stepped up enforcement.
In the meantime, at least one downtown customer said the entire parking debate would have little effect on her.
“I usually park in the back (lots off Fifth Street),” said Ann Howe, a Gilroy resident on one of her regular trips to Sue’s Coffee Roasting Company. “Parking is not a big issue for me, so I leave the spots open for people who get aggravated.”
