To the Editor:
The Hour asked rhetorically “Is SoNo a no-go?” While I have deep admiration for a clever headline, I have deeper concerns about the perception that is silently hanging out there. Of course SoNo is a great place to go to. But the parking policy executed by the Norwalk Parking Authority has adversely affected the district beyond just being just a perception problem.
There is not a city in America where any parking story won’t garner its share of clicks, anecdotes, and outrage. No one likes taxes, death, or paying for parking. So it’s easy to write the story confirming the self-evident.
What is harder to write about, is what it means economically to a rather small city, governed by small-town politics, when one department unleashes the forces of economic destruction upon a fragile neighborhood.
Economic stories are hard. We want to relate to them through analogy – much like various officials opining that “someone has to pay for parking.” The “taxpayer” is trotted out as a heroic figure who can’t possibly subsidize “free” parking as if there are only two choices between paid parking and free parking. It’s not so simple though, as the cost of parking is intertwined in so much other economic activity and city policy that directly impact how much our heroic taxpayer is paying.
The flat growth of property values overall in Norwalk, the significant decline in property values in SoNo, directly impact our taxpayer far more than the $77,000 (or so) in revenue that the meters on street generate to the Parking Authority. Yet the impact on property values is just the tip of the proverbial economic iceberg.
SoNo’s historic district is a tourist attraction, and the jobs generated by businesses that occupy its historic buildings, the economic passive revenue generated by patrons of SoNo are valuable contributors to the overall economic health of this city.
The city of Norwalk has invested over $30 million dollars into SoNo over the years. That investment should be returning significantly to our taxpayer. It’s the heart of successful economic development. There are shining examples of how those taxpayer dollars have been invested to spur growth and prosperity to our taxpayer. Sadly, the Norwalk Parking Authority is not one of those examples.
Aggressive ticketing for time lapses and a land grab of extra parking space striping in areas where on-street parking is only is the only residential option, defeat the policy of improved quality of life. Each year, the Norwalk Parking Authority increases fees or prices to meet its budgetary goals, now surpassing $5.2 million.
It is puzzling that politically appointed watchdogs to the Norwalk parking authority board never seem to question this budget when comparable size cities manage on just $2 million budgets. It is odd that, at a time when nearby municipal governments streamline to become more efficient, Norwalk practices redundancy and overlap in city services. Was it not so long ago that the police department asked for taxpayer funding for a dedicated plow truck while the Parking Authority operates next door. No one thinks to ask why should each department have its own fleet of equipment. I too can ask a rhetorical question, “what has happened to the public in public works?”
When last year, under political pressure, the former mayor authorized police officer foot patrols in the downtown area, our heroic taxpayer was indeed paying the high price of a failed parking policy. It just didn’t conveniently fall under a neat line item called parking subsidy.
It is time for a better approach to parking policy in Norwalk. It is also time for new approach to thinking about the economic sustainability of Norwalk’s downtowns.
The easiest thing to do is live with the status quo. The harder thing to do is make changes. Why not limit enforcement tickets until after an hour has passed from the expiration time. Wouldn’t be a nice goodwill gesture? Why not make it simple to purchase an all-night block of time after 6 p.m. instead of forcing patrons to estimate the time they will spend? Instead of encouraging people to limit their time in SoNo, wouldn’t it be better to have a policy that encourages people to maximize their stay without worries?
These two things won’t solely change the dynamic of failed parking policy in SoNo overnight. However they do symbolize a change in the status quo. Longer-term changes are just as important, but the meter has expired on the current version of the Norwalk Parking Authority.
Jackie Lightfield
Jackie Lightfield is co-founder of Norwalk 2.0, a downtown economic development and arts agency, former chairwoman of the Norwalk Zoning Commission and the Norwalk Arts Commission.
Leave a Reply
You must Register or Login to post a comment.