Downtown business patrons are now able to park an additional hour on Main Street before risking a ticket. The parking limit change, requested by local business owners, was addressed over the course of the summer and voted upon at a meeting of the Common Council held on Sept. 9, 2014.
The change was initiated by business owners who felt the two hour limit was hurting business because customers were being fined.
“The longer parking limit is more user friendly for both business owners and patrons,” Doug McKinley, Chief of Police, said.
After five customers received $20 tickets, Kathy Austin, one of the owners of downtown hair salon Cuttin’ Up, requested the parking limit be changed from two to three hours and that the fines be lowered, according to the minutes of the Aug. 12 Common Council meeting.
“The request struck a chord with council members,” McKinley said.
The council discussed the request at a subsequent meeting on Aug. 26. According to the minutes from that meeting, Howard Crofoot, Platteville Public Works Director, stated that a longer parking limit and reduced fine could result in employees and tenants occupying parking spaces that could instead be used for customers.
“Originally they went with two hours because they felt it was a quicker turnover,” McKinley said, “but the council has always been receptive to input.”
While many downtown business owners agreed with this idea of quicker turnover, procedures at businesses that provide services, such as hair salons, may require more than the two hour limit.
“We are down on the end of Main Street so we have a pretty good parking situation,” Faye Engler, owner of Bad Cat Tattoo, said. “But for our tattoo artists, it helps to have that extra hour.”
For Engler, an additional benefit is the fact that she and her coworkers do not have to worry about their customers getting tickets.
Amber Podstawa, another owner of Cuttin’ Up, said that depending on the day, parking may be difficult to find on Main Street. She does not believe that it has anything to do with parking limits.
McKinley said that people tend to be more vocal when something is not working, and has not heard much since the change.
“We are always looking to evaluate and improve our processes as needed,” McKinley said.
For more information on City of Platteville parking regulations, visit www.platteville.org/?sc=Community&community=120