Council to discuss parking
By Rochelle Moore
Published in News on August 21, 2017 5:50 AM
Parking in the downtown area for an extended amount of time may come with a cost.
The Goldsboro City Council is set to consider the approval of a two-hour time limit for Center Street parking spaces, from Ash to Chestnut streets, during its Monday meeting.
The restriction is proposed to include the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and is based on a request from the Downtown Goldsboro Merchants Association.
Dustin Pike, DGMA president, estimates that downtown business owners stand to profit more if the parking spaces are open and not blocked by vehicles for long periods of time.
Pike, in a letter to the city council, is asking that time limits be set, as the downtown business and residential district continues to experience increased growth.
"While ample parking is provided on Center Street, these valuable parking spaces are consistently occupied by tenants, whose vehicles are not moved daily, and by some employees of businesses whose owners do not make their employees park in our municipal lots but allow them instead to tie up valuable parking spaces all day long," Pike wrote.
"These tenants and employees are monopolizing customer parking during the peak hours our businesses are open."
Based on certain studies, Pike says that one parking space located directly in front of a business can generate $30,000 in annual sales.
"By having these spaces occupied by tenants and employees, our merchants are potentially losing out on sales, and are inconveniencing those who choose to shop downtown," Pike said in the letter.
The council will take up the issue during its Monday night meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. in City Hall, at 214 N. Center St.
During the past year, the council has discussed downtown parking restrictions with some reservation due to Center Street being located along a street of increasing commercial activity and growth.
Parking tickets of $25 or $50 are now issued to people parking in certain areas, including handicapped zones, traffic lanes, intersections, loading zones, at bus stops and near fire hydrants.
The fines, which will also be issued to violators of the two-hour restriction, are not meant to discourage visitors to the downtown area, said Scott Stevens, city manager.
"It is not my intent to aggressively enforce or deter people from coming downtown," Stevens said. "My hope is to educate and fine those who regularly park for extended periods."
Also during the meeting, the council will consider:
* Appropriating $35,000 in city fund balance reserves to the Goldsboro Family YMCA for a new mentoring program planned at Goldsboro High School.
* Condemning 18 properties in the city that fail to meet minimum housing standards and considered unfit for human habitation.
* Awarding a $62,000 contract to Eastern Earthscapes and Construction for the installation of a 1,000-linear-foot fence that would be installed at the rear of Union Station. The project would be paid for with a Federal Highway Administration grant and a city match of $11,155.
The council will also hold a public hearing for the proposed removal of the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction encompassing Busco Beach.
Prior to the regular meeting, the council will meet for a work session at 5 p.m. in the City Hall annex, at 200 N. Center St.