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If You Work Downtown,
Park Where I Say Park
or Hit the Door
By Dolores P. Palma and Doyle G. Hyett
HyettPalma, Inc.
Making Downtown Renaissance a Reality
The next time you hear customers or merchants complain about
employees parking in prime Downtown on-street parking spaces, ruminate
on these simple questions.
- How do some employees come to the crazed
conclusion that the public owes them a parking space?
- Do employees not realize that many of
their jobs depend on the revenue supplied by customers who will not
park anywhere else other than on-street, in the front of shops?
- Do some employees not realize that if
most of their employer’s best customers — meaning those
who have the ability to spend their money anywhere they please and those
customers who are not always looking for things on-sale — can’t
park in a convenient space near a shop’s entrance that they will
most likely drive to a shop where their money and time are treated with
more respect?
- Do some local governments that do not
properly manage on-street parking — meaning monitoring time limits
and writing parking tickets — not understand that when employees
monopolize prime on-street spaces that the local government is forgoing
needed sales tax revenue and, potentially, not aggressively collecting
substantial parking fines which should be paid by some employees too
lazy to walk a block or two?
- Do some local governments not realize
that this lost revenue — from lost customer sales taxes and uncollected
employee fines — is being made-up by their constituents through,
likely, property or income taxes?
- Do some parking enforcement personnel not understand
that “wiping-off-the-chalk” — also known as playing
“beat-the-cop” — is almost as big a national pastime
among some employees as racing to a parking meter with customer-paid
time remaining — resulting in the ultimate conquest of having
customers pay for employee parking?
- Do some employees not realize that when
they park in prime on-street parking spaces they are — in fact — stealing
revenue from their employer and all the other businesses up and down
the street?
Employers, employees, local elected officials, and everyone
else involved must understand that prime, on-street parking spaces are
owned by the public and should be reserved for public use. And, for those
narrow-minded employees who carp about the fact that they are also members
of the public, SO WHAT? Why should anyone expect the general public
to buy this argument? They never have in the past.
In thousands of customer focus group sessions conducted
by HyettPalma throughout the nation over the past 20 years, one of the
most oft noted Downtown customer concerns relates to the gross disrespect
shown by Downtown employees who flagrantly dominate the best parking spaces
in Downtown, with the primo Downtown spaces defined as…
The on-street parking spaces located in the front of whatever shop happens to strike a customer¡s fancy, at whatever time the impulse to shop surfaces, and whenever the urge to park presents itself.
So, Mr. and Ms. Downtown Merchant, the next
time your employee says, “Why can’t I park in front of your
shop, I pay taxes too, it is my right to park where I like,” you
might want to invite them to just go up to the cash register and help
themselves to whatever they like. It really is the same thing.
In addition, why not take a few more minutes
to show them to the door after they have cleaned you out. It wouldn’t
really be any bigger loss. In fact, it might open-up a prime on-street
parking space for a customer to fill the till, again.
About the Authors
Doyle G. Hyett and Dolores P. Palma are
the founders of Hyett Palma, Inc., the only national consulting firm specializing
in the economic renaissance of Downtowns and older business districts.
Since being formed in 1985, the firm’s work has restored confidence
and stimulated private investment in hundreds of Downtowns nationwide.
In addition, HyettPalma provides all technical assistance for the America
Downtown® program (offered by the National League of
Cities) and the Indiana Downtown® program
(offered by the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns). The firm was
recently selected to complete 10 Downtown economic enhancement strategies
in Michigan in association with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s
new Blueprints for Michigan Downtowns, which
was collaboratively created in association with the Michigan Municipal
League and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.
For more information about HyettPalma, please
visit www.hyettpalma.com.
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