Letter: Sell S. Tahoe’s parking kiosks to Reno
To the community,
As I read in the Reno Gazette Journal about Reno’s decision effective July 12, 2013, to cancel their paid parking kiosk contract with Reno-based Curb System, it suddenly occurred to me that this could be a golden opportunity for South Lake Tahoe. After more than two years of system failures, citation abatements and citizens’ complaints, Reno is now shopping for a new provider for their pay-to-park services. Bingo!
While many may disagree, I consider our city manager, Nancy Kerry, imaginative and she is known to be an effective negotiator. It would not be at all surprising to learn that she has already been on the phone with Reno’s city manager, Andrew Clinger, negotiating to sell SLT’s 30 never-been-used and almost-never-been-used parking kiosks. Could this be the silver lining to the dark cloud saga of South Lake Tahoe’s paid parking kiosks and residential permit parking program?
Peggy Bourland-Madison, South Lake Tahoe
Paradise Avenue on July 16 at 4pm.
Venice Drive on July 15 at 4pm; approximately 80 paid spaces.
Paradise Avenue on July 11 at 10am; 45 spaces available for paid parking. Photos/Peggy Bourland-Madison
SLT URGENTLY NEEDS A FORENSIC AUDIT. These pictures of a failed parking program, that nobody wanted, is typical of the mismanagement that has plagued our city council for decades. Although our city is blessed with many dedicated staff and we have one of the best police departments anywhere, we also have a city council that has a long record of failed projects and criminal incompetence. That’s not an opinion, it is a fact, based upon the findings of the El Dorado Grand Jury. From the twelve acre crater in the middle of town, to the $5M illegally transferred to cover the failed redevelopment projects, to hemorrhaging money on virtually everything they touch, the same people have been re-elected and have continued to make life miserable for the rest of us. What is needed most right now is a forensic audit, to give us a truthful picture of where we stand financially. If you include all the city’s un-budgeted liabilities, I believe an audit will show we are at least $300 million in the red and losing over $1M per year. Until we face this reality like grownups, we are just kicking the can down the road, temporarily postponing an inevitable bankruptcy and major systemic failure that will bring unprecedented suffering to our entire community.
Paradise Avenue parking kiosks are a disaster.
It is no longer being used by the employees of Ski Run Marina who now park in the neighborhood and walk a bit more.
It’s inconvenient for the employees. It’s inconvenient for the residents of the neighborhood. No financial gain for the city.
The sooner the kiosks are removed the better.
See the photos in the article.
End the meters…bad idea, good leaders realize they have made a mistake and make corrections. C’mon SLT council.
Reno isn’t looking for new kiosks. They’re putting in coin meters. They don’t want our cast-offs. Just the use of our name.
Im all for charging! Our city needs the money…if you live here ride your bike, take the public transit or carpool with a co worker and your parking will always be free! If you work somewhere that does not provide employee parking, take it up with them.
Bunch of spoiled babies in this town!
Also, you took all of these photos during the week, not a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Last night @ Lakeview Commons, the parking lot was full, so obviously people are parking and paying no problem!
I have to travel to the Lake to meet someone at City Hall today. Does anyone know if the Airport/City Hall parking is metered? And, if so, what do I need – a sack of quarters? This meeting probably isn’t worth much more than, say, 75 cents.
Yesterday afternoon there were six (6) vehicles parked on East Venice. Of those 6, one was a California Tahoe Conservancy pickup truck (no parking receipt in windshield) and a Tahoe-Douglas Fire vehicle (no parking receipt either).
Ordinarily in the middle of July, prior to the misguided pay parking scheme, there would be many more enjoying Cove East (which the City does not own or maintain).
For a city that has suddenly and desperately determined that recreation should now be its draw and priority, it seems to be quite successful at effectively discouraging it.
To “I love parking meters”…. Most employers in SLT can’t afford to pay parking, and most non-city or utility employees make minimum wage and have more than one job to survive in this area. You must be one of those who get the big bucks working for the city, stpud,, etc. I hope the employees now parking in neighborhoods, find your house and take up all your visitor parking!
Whats missing from this article is a photo on the other side of Paradise Ave where I live. That area is full of cars as all of the loud tourists park in front of my house as they walk to the beach.
Someone doesn’t want to admit that the empty spaces are because of the charges – not because it’s midweek.
My fear is that we are on a path to greatly diminish the number of tourists that still come to our once-fair city. We are getting a reputation for over charging our visitors; “over charging” has a double meaning, as too many fees & charges, and fees & charges that are too high. Common sense says to tax those things that you want to discourage and reward those things that you want to encourage.
Another unintended consequence of the parking problem created by paid parking is, now there are cars and boat trailers parked in the yards and driveways of houses which are 2nd homes. The owners aren’t there but strangers are parking on their property to avoid tickets.
not only are the parking meters misguided, they don’t work. I had to park at Lakeview the other day and it took 3 tries, 3 different meters, before I could find one that worked! And $2/hour? That is just a rip-off.
I expect there will be a rash of break-ins too, as the thieves can just look at that receipt and know how much time they have before the owner returns!
Peggy, sorry, there is no chance this council and Ms. Kerry will admit they made a mistake this quickly. At the least I expect a meeting/review in the Fall where they will say we need to give it another year.
Ms. Kerry was the big proponent of the meters. Perhaps we should tie her performance review to the success of the meters.
Copper and Mansoor, I wish they would put meters in the parking lot by the city hall. Lets see how the city staff, council, & restaurant patrons like parking in some residential neighborhood and walking down to the offices there.
Her is how to generate revenue for the city… increase fines on vacation rentals, increase the annual fees on rental properties and transfer the parking staff just hired to monitor the vacation rentals. We’ll get the 3,000 tickets the city is looking for. We’ll also serve the voters who are tired of the college-like behavior at many of these properties.
this is ordinary in other cities. stop complaining.
I don’t have the answer to the parking situation, but, I can say what is happening now is not working and the people suffering are the residents. I live on the first street off Venice and am one of three full time residents on the street. Since the paid parking began on Venice East our street has been a nightmare. I have had someone block my driveway; a family park in front of my house and unload their bikes, beach gear and walk their dog on my lawn; a man come to my door angry that my automatic sprinklers came on and drenched the inside of his truck because he had left the windows open (his tires were actually 3 inches on to my lawn;) and I was unable to mow my lawn for over a week because during daylight hours there was always vehicles parked in front of my house right up to the grass line and it was impossible to turn the lawnmower around. People are also bringing their trucks and trailers up to Venice West to park which has blocked visibility when turning on to Venice (you have to be halfway into the west bound lane to see if it is clear in the other direction and I drive an SUV so I’m pretty high up.) And these are just the things I witnessed – who knows what goes on that I don’t see.
I run the Cove East loop and nobody is parking on Venice East now – they are opting to walk 1/2 a mile and not pay. Many that do park there who receive tickets are throwing them on the ground.
I really don’t care if people park in front of my house or on my street but I do mind the disrespect for my property. It seems that the people who don’t want to pay for parking are the same people who don’t want to respect other people’s property. From my recent experience, these are the people we are driving into our resident’s neighborhoods. Maybe I’ll put my own meter in to help pay for the damages.
Amen, reza.
Time for the meters to go.
iloveparkingmeters if you think Saturdays and Sundays in July and August will pay for this huge parking management program 8am to 10pm, 7 days a week, 365 days a year you are in lala land.
Anyone that TRUST anything that comes out of Nancy Kerry’s mouth are in LaLa land, she is a the most two faced person I have ever spoken too, Don’t believe a word she say’s. She will lie to your face and swear she never said it. DO NOT EVER TRUST HER.
What is being said here was said at all of the Council meetings and Public meeting before they installed the meters. Exactly as “New to this” said, we experienced first hand the lies…at the Public meeting at the Senior Center, there was a huge outcry of citizens opposed to the Parking Meters and disclosed the issues in the Al Tahoe Neighborhood out of about 120 people or so, 1 was in favor of the meters, and I personally know them, and they do not live in this neighborhood. Perhaps it was “iloveparkingmeters.” Then at the City Council meeting that followed the Senior Center meeting, Nancy Kerry got up and said that she felt good about going forward with the meters because of the overwhelming support of those in attendance at the Senior Center meeting. What a load of $#@!. DO NOT TRUST OUR CITY MANAGER OR COUNCIL or anything that comes out of their mouths.
I am grateful that all of those commenting here, have common sense and REALLY understand what is happening in our town with the council and the many, many mistakes, minus of course “iloveparkingmeters” which probably implemented the parking meters.
Steve Kubby, in your comments you essentially put all of the failures on the city council and pretty much state that the city staff does not and has not made recommendations on the actions the council takes. Correct me if I am wrong but this council pretty much follows quite a bit of the staff recommendations on each of the agenda actions, it is rare that they go a different way from staff recommendations. The Parking meter issue was brought to council by staff and recommended by such esp. the police department. Staff is hoping for an increase in order that there is no more reductions in personal.
IF THE STAFF DOES NOT GO ALONG WITH WHAT NANCY KERRY SAY’S THEN THEY ARE FIRED OR RUINED IN THEIR JOB, THEY MUST GO ALONG WITH HER OR FACE THE MUSIC.
SHE IS A DICTATOR AND WILL SETTLE FOR NOTHING LESS, SEVERAL HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS BECAUSE THEY DISAGREE.
THAT’S A FACT !!!
its all dirty politics
The city bought the meters over a year before they had a public meeting about them. Joanne Conner tells people they can park in the Keys Village center and block those businesses if they don’t want to pay to park at a meter on Venice. She also said they put meters on Venice because boat trailers were breaking down the curbs and they needed a way to maintain the curbs.
Ironic how our elected officials which are supposed to be representing the citizens, actually seem to be representing the government’s (in this case the city gov’t) agenda to perpetuate itself.