SANDPOINT, Idaho — The new paid parking kiosks in downtown Sandpoint have been shut down two weeks after they were rolled out. That decision came at the city council’s meeting last night after pushback from business owners and residents, protests and calls to remove the mayor from office.
The council voted to table a discussion about an amendment to the rules, shutting down the kiosks in the meantime. Council president Deb Ruehle was the only one to vote against the decision.
“If those lots were legal yesterday, then they’ll be legal tomorrow,” council member Joel Aispuro said at the meeting. “We’ll deal with it at the next meeting.”
The paid parking system, which went into effect July 1, allows people to park downtown for free for two hours, and then requires them to pay $4 an hour after that. While the city has said the plan was meant to generate revenue for the city, increase parking spot turnover and take the tax burden off residents, the plan has been criticized by some residents and business owners, with some saying it discourages people from shopping downtown.
Ruehle spoke in favor of keeping the kiosks, arguing that getting rid of them would be a waste of money.
“Once we stop and we rip things out of the ground, we’ve cost the taxpayers a lot of money,” Ruehle said at the meeting. “I think the opportunity to educate and move forward and see where we end up is here.”
Other council members said the city’s communication about the parking system had been poor, and that the rules had caused more harm than good.
“The piddly amount of income that we’re going to get from street parking is not worth the damage that we’re doing to our downtown businesses or our community,” council member Kyle Schreiber said at the meeting. “My opinion is when there’s water filling up the boat, you grab a bucket.”
The city council will pick the discussion back up at its next meeting.
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