YAKIMA, Wash.- The Yakima City Council received a new proposal about paid parking downtown. Joe Mann, owner of Ron’s Coins & Collectibles and president of the Yakima Downtown Association along with other business owners presented their new plan on June 6.
The business owners proposed to increase from 30% to 60% the number of parking spaces in the downtown parking lots saved for monthly parking. According to Mann, this would create 270 to 280 spaces for paid parking, which would cost $50.00 a month. The plan is estimated to generate $200,000 a year, which would be used to remake the parking lots that have not been maintained in the last twelve years.
“Our method or process that we want to do right now is there’s a limit of how many monthly spaces can be in the lots and it’s limited to 30 percent. We want to raise that to 60%, so they can be twice as many,” said Mann.
There are still business owners that disagree with Mann and say that the new proposed plan is expensive along the way. However, Mann said he has local support with about ten business owners approving it.
“I don’t work for the city. I’m not paid by the city for anything. I’ve had my business here in downtown for 48 years,” said Mann. You’ve heard the fifty dollars as being too much. If they were parking in Seattle, it’s three hundred dollars to park for a month and so fifty dollars is a lot. I’m not saying it isn’t but if the employer helps with the employee, I think there’s a way we can do it and we can still keep that free parking component for our customers to come down and visit us.”
Mann, Ben Hittle and Steve Mercy are looking for endorsement of their proposal from the DAY board before the City Council considers putting it into law.
