Downtown Paid Parking Independence Day
Today, May 7th, is the 2 year anniversary of the vote that ended downtown paid parking in the City of Paso Robles. At the City Council meeting on May 7, 2024—the council voted to end the paid parking program. The parking system had already been shut down the previous February because of questions about its legality.
The council would vote again to confirm the decision, at a 2nd reading of the ordinance change. Over a year later, in June 2025, the city council would vote to end the paid employee parking lots, opening them up for both employee and public parking. There are still many unhappy about how the city handled refunds for what became illegal parking fines levied during the operation of the downtown paid parking system.
The May 7th decision was a major victory for citizens and downtown business owners that had been expressing their concerns about the downtown parking system for years.
I wish I could say that the city or the city council have learned much about how to interact and deal with public needs and wants. Unfortunately, it’s business as usual in many ways.
But today—let’s celebrate. Go downtown today and enjoy the local shops and restaurants; and greet people with the words, “Happy Downtown Parking Independence Day”.
Relevant news stories:
“Paso is getting rid of its downtown paid parking program”; New Times, May 16, 2024
