CALDWELL, Idaho — New parking meters have been installed in Downtown Caldwell but not everyone is happy about it.
- On May 15 Downtown Caldwell went to paid parking
- During a City Council meeting, several Caldwell residents and business owners took the time to express their frustrations over new parking meters
- Mayor Jarom Wagoner also says there will be a new public hearing and vote in October regarding the meters
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
Paid parking has been a thing in downtown Caldwell for a little over a month now, but some Downtown businesses say 'enough is enough.'
It’s a story we’ve been following for you since the idea was first announced. I'm your neighborhood reporter Jessica Davis in Downtown Caldwell and I've learned the parking situation may be in for a change.
"Caldwell is a country town, this is a rural community, we don't want parking meters,” says Bob Clark, owner of Idaho Blade.
On May 15, Downtown Caldwell went to paid parking from Cleveland boulevard to Main Street between 5th and 10th Avenues, to ease congestion in parking areas and improve spot turnover.
During Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, several residents and business owners took the time to express their frustrations over it.
"We are doing everything we can to sustain our business, and this is making it a great challenge. After surviving COVID, we don't want to have to survive the city we support,” says Kristopher Ott, owner of Chop Shop.
Ott says paid parking has discouraged customers from going downtown leading to a $25,000 loss for his business.
"We are struggling with some of these issues, I have guests coming in on a daily basis to complain," Ott said. "From May 1 to today, I am down almost $25,000 in sales because people are protesting the meters."
Other business owners, such as Sazja Fletcher with used bookstore the Rubaiyat, says the parking situation is bad enough, but the addition of payment means her business has dropped about 20-percent in the last month.
Fletcher says, "I'm the only business with no parking off the street on that road. I didn't have any problems with parking until event time, which is fine, we can work around that. But I'm watching a drop in sales because the meters don't work right."
Council members listened patiently and promised to consider the complaints as they move forward.
We reached out to Caldwell Mayor Jarom Wagoner, who tells us the city is constantly looking at ways to improve and will continue speaking to local businesses to see what is working and what is not.
Mayor Wagoner also says there will be a new public hearing and vote in October regarding the parking meters.