Parking in Downtown Staunton

There’s an interesting article in today’s News Leader about parking Downtown. Apparently, the City’s parking fund has fallen way short of its requirements, and Council will need to pull $220,000 from the general fund to cover the difference.

In the article, Vice Mayor David Metz says of Downtown and City employees: “They are gaming the system. They take the spots and leave none for the shoppers. That’s my heartburn. We have to transfer money, and they get the choicest spots in town.”

Basically, his point is that people who work Downtown should spend $20 per month on parking passes for the Wharf lot or one of the two garages, and leave the street spaces open for shoppers. There’s nothing to disagree with there, as far as I can tell. On the other hand, I find it interesting that Downtown is perceived as having limited parking, when there are almost always empty spots in the garages and Wharf lot.

What do you think? Do you have problems finding a space to park Downtown when you come? If there were more on-street spaces available during the day, would you use them? Do you mind walking from the lot or garage up to Beverley Street to visit the stores that are there? Does it irk you to pay 50 cents per hour to use a garage or lot? Comment away and share your thoughts. You can try this little poll, too.

(For those who might not know: Pufferbellies is located directly across the street from the Wharf lot, and we purchase parking tokens at face value from the City to give to our customers.)