The Red and Black

Issue date: 3/17/09 Section: News

Media Credit: JIM DIFFLY The cost of parking downtown gets a bit pricier this summer. [Click to enlarge]

The days of trivial $3 parking tickets downtown will be over soon.

The meager fines will come to an end June 30. Starting July 1, parking tickets will more than triple from $3 to $10 for an expired meter, and the meter fee will double from 25 cents to 50 cents per hour.

"The whole issue is about parking availability and not about raising revenue," said ACC Commissioner David Lynn.

According to Lynn, the on-street parking needs to be used by retail customers as much as possible, and not by downtown employees or patrons who will be parked for extended periods of time.

"Our parking policy had not contributed to that mission because it was so cheap," Lynn said.

Many University students, already strapped for cash, are unhappy with the increases.

Emily Knab, a junior from Duluth, works downtown at Cillies Clothing.

"Well, that's just ridiculous," she said. "And it's robbery and I'm not comfortable with robbery. I do not appreciate robbery."

The initiative also has faced criticism from local business owners.

"They needed to increase the rate some, but we hope the commission will come up with a reasonable increase," said Irvin Alhadeff, owner of Masada Leather & Outdoor and president of the Downtown Athens Business Association. "As a merchant, I'm not real happy about some of these increases."

Alhadeff is working with other business owners to get the commission to further think about some of the new rules, including supporting two-hour parking meters instead of one-hour.

"We're hopeful we can get them to reconsider some of the changes," he said.

George Maxwell was one of three commissioners who voted against the parking increases.

"The only thing I was complaining about was the parking fines going up to $10," said Maxwell.

But he said he was in favor of increasing parking fees to 50 cents an hour. He said he doesn't think the hourly increase would effect downtown businesses significantly.

Jane Scott, the owner of the Native America Gallery, said downtown business owners were not consulted regarding the changes.

"That is one thing I am furious about," she said. "There was no meeting called to bounce these ideas off of us."

Scott said she and other business owners are upset about the fact that the Athens Downtown Development Authority proposed an increase from $3 to $6, and the commission raised it to $10.

"I don't think the mayor and the commissioners have a good feel of what the typical person off the street is feeling," she said. "With the huge increase in the fines, we're just concerned it's going to alienate, anger and offend the people going into our stores."

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