Complaints over Auburn’s new downtown parking system continued to build Thursday as residents and a downtown business owner urged City Council to reconsider a program they say has become too expensive, complicated and difficult for some visitors to use.
James Udall told council that a poll conducted through a local Facebook group drew about 850 responses, with 86% of respondents describing the parking system as unaffordable, too expensive or too complicated. The poll was conducted by the group and wasn’t a scientific survey.
Udall said his larger concern is accessibility, particularly for older residents who don’t own smartphones and may have difficulty using Auburn’s Pango-based payment system.
“It should be easier to do business downtown, not more expensive, not harder,” Udall told council as he urged officials to reconsider the current policy.
The city’s parking system underwent a major change this summer as Auburn expanded its Pango pay-to-park system downtown. Kiosks remain available in portions of the central business district, along with other payment options.
Downtown business owner Sue Waby, who owns Regenerations, returned to the council podium Thursday after raising similar concerns at previous meetings.
Waby said several surveys or polls now show significant dissatisfaction with the system and criticized a voucher program being offered as one way for businesses to assist customers with parking costs.
She said placing responsibility on merchants to distribute or manage parking vouchers wasn’t a workable solution and again called for two hours of free parking downtown, with enforcement focused on vehicles that exceed the time limit.
“We’re grasping at straws here, trying to force this down everybody’s throat,” Waby said of the current system.
Waby also said she wanted to meet directly with city officials rather than continue raising her concerns only during the council’s public-comment period. Giannettino responded that Haines had already replied to her request that afternoon with three potential meeting dates and times.
Another resident, Pam O’Kussik, offered a different observation about the downtown parking problem, saying she had seen business owners occupying on-street spaces that could otherwise be available to customers.
The dispute has been building for several weeks.
At the Aug. 27 council meeting, Waby similarly raised concerns about cost, complexity, security and accessibility and suggested two hours of free parking as a compromise. City officials said at the time that they were hearing the complaints and planned to work through the feedback with city staff and the Auburn Downtown Partnership.
No parking policy changes were adopted Thursday, but the repeated public comments and planned meeting with Waby mean the issue is likely to remain before city officials.
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