park-n-chide

Proposal to Increase Missoula Parking Fines Sparks Tension

By Matthew Frank, 4-12-07

Downtown parking guru Dennis Burns writes in the book Making Business Districts Work, “It is amazing how emotional an issue parking can be. This is because it affects people so directly. Think about it—how many other areas involve issues of personal safety/security, finance, convenience, wayfinding, accessibility, and customer service?”

In downtown Missoula, a Parking Commission proposal to increase fines and the subsequent quarreling between vocal downtown business owners and the Missoula Downtown Association (MDA) and Missoula Parking Commission (MPC), show just how right Burns is.

The proposal would increase $2 meter violations to $5 for first-time offenses, $5 overtime fines to $10, and $15 improper parking fines to $20. MPC director Anne Guest points out that the plan would not increase the cost to park, only the fines for not paying that cost.

Guest says the current $2 violation, which has been in place since before 1971, is no longer a deterrent. There is “tremendous abuse,” she says, often by downtown employees who dominate parking spaces meant for people who come downtown for shops and services. Such a small fine encourages “game playing,” Guest says. For instance, moving the car or plugging the meter only when an enforcement officer is seen coming down the street.

“We want downtown employees and employers to respect downtown parking,” she says.

But a number of downtown employers, mostly retailers, are concerned that increasing fines would make downtown Missoula less customer-friendly, and that would affect businesses’ bottom lines. 

Scott Sproull, owner of Hide & Sole on Higgins Ave., is at the center of the backlash to the MPC’s proposal. He contends that instead of focusing on abusers, downtown Missoula should focus on the customer experience, and that means lenience in parking fines.

“Why would I pay for parking downtown,” he asks, “when I can go to the mall for Birkenstocks and park for free?” He’s convinced he stands to lose some percentage of business. “Five percent, ten percent, twenty percent? I don’t know.”

Sproull is fervent, in part because he says he doesn’t want the MDA (which he was president of in 1986) to throw its support behind the proposal—which the Board of Directors nearly did earlier in the month—without first checking in with its member businesses. He’s threatening to organize like-minded business owners to collectively quit the MDA in protest. In addition, he perceives the MPC’s tactics in trying to push the plan through, and those of Guest in particular, as being less than inclusive. “This is not the way to run government,” he says.

Sproull does envision an alternative. He is a staunch supporter of two-hour free parking, with at least a $10 fine imposed beyond that. It’s a system—one that Bozeman employs—that would keep the MPC well funded, he says, while giving downtown shoppers time to linger—and spend money.

“We can’t keep (downtown) vital if customers aren’t welcome downtown,” Sproull says.

Guest insists the fine increase is reasonable, especially when compared to similar-sized cities like Bellingham, Washington and Salem, Oregon, which have $10 and $15 dollar fines, respectively. “We want to be in sync (with downtown businesses) and have their interests at heart—and we do,” Guest says.

Linda McCarthy, executive director of the MDA, believes both sides have important goals. But considering the issue’s contentiousness, “How do we come to a place where we agree to disagree?” she asks.

Of the association’s 400 member businesses, roughly 50 have spoken out in response to the proposal to increase meter fines, and those 50 are about split down the middle on the issue, McCarthy says. She says she doesn’t know if Sproull’s threat to quit the MDA is real. “We don’t want to lose our members,” she says. “We’re a membership-based organization.”

McCarthy says retail business owners need to understand that the MDA Board of Directors has to consider all downtown interests, not just those of retailers. “From my perspective, (the Board is) definitely taking into consideration all components that make a downtown successful.” And she disagrees with Sproull’s assertion that the process heretofore hasn’t been an open one.

The next step is a MDA-hosted public forum scheduled for April 17 from 7-10 pm in the Holiday Inn Parkside: “… an effort to obtain information, seek suggestions from MDA members and clientèle, set priorities and make a recommendation to the MPC.”

The results of the meeting will inform the MDA Board of Directors, which hopes to settle the issue at its May 1 meeting. Its recommendations will be forwarded to the MPC Board. The Missoula City Council will make the final decision following a public comment period and hearing.

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