Merchants Object to 90-Minute Parking

A proposal by police to change two-hour downtown Ventura parking to 90 minutes on July 1 met disapproval from merchants, who asked police officials to consider other options.

But if the 90-minute limit is approved, merchants said they want signs posted informing shoppers of the change.

In a meeting at City Hall last week, traffic officers said they wanted to hear from downtown merchants and residents on the proposal before making any changes.

Most present said 90 minutes is not long enough for the average shopper. Some worried that if customers are ticketed, they might not return.

“Two hours is the key to this whole thing,” said Richard Hood, owner of Robin Hood’s Downtown Jewelers on East Main Street.

Police want to make the change, and to replace chalk tire-marking with hand-held computers to record the amount of time cars are parked. Both would be done, police say, for safety reasons.

Every parking enforcement officer at the department has experienced some sort of medical problem from repeatedly bending out of moving scooters to mark tires with chalk, officials said. Some injuries have resulted in surgery.

One scooter flipped over in an accident, Lt. Don Arth said.

Police say the 90-minute slots would allow more shopper turnover, vital to downtown businesses. And, they add, three-hour parking spaces and all-day slots in parking lots within easy walking distance of downtown stores often go begging.

After researching cities with downtowns similar to Ventura’s, officials found the public adjusts quickly to using all-day lots and three-hour parking spaces, Arth said, especially if numerous, easy-to-read signs are posted, directing them to the lots.

Some merchants asked if they could get special permits, allowing them to park longer than 90 minutes. Other cities have such arrangements, Turner said, and Ventura could consider it. Most cities’ permit programs have a waiting list, he said, because more merchants want permits than are available.

Most cities also charge several hundred dollars for the permits, which goes to upkeep for daylong parking structures, police Cpl. John Turner said.

Turner asked whether merchants would like to see metered parking on Main Street, but few said yes.

Police plan more public meetings before announcing final plans.

They want to make changes as soon as possible, though, Arth said, before the summer tourist season hits full swing.