YAKIMA, Wash.- Starting Saturday June 1, the changes to downtown Yakima’s parking system goes into effect. Parking in a city owned lot will be free for three hours and parking on the street is free for two hours.
Long-term parking passes and parking violation tickets will drop from $50 to $20 as well as limiting passes sold to allow more open spaces.
It’s only a start of a solution according to some downtown businesses.
“It’s something that we’re going to have to monitor and watch out for,” says Dimitri Ray, the owner of The Alignment Co. “I think it’s going to definitely affect our business. I don’t think it’s going to be for the greater I definitely think it’s going to be for the lesser.”
Ray says the rules don’t address the real needs of downtown businesses: more parking spaces.
He says customers often take their business elsewhere when they can’t find parking. That’s preventing The Alignment Co. from joining with delivery services as drivers would be faced with an impossible task.
“Consumers want to be in downtown,” says Ray. “They want to walk around, they want to shop but when you don’t make it easy or accessible for them, it becomes a nuisance or headache.”
Another headache Ray is concerned about, is employee parking. When there are open spaces, employees still have to move their cars every three hours or pay to work with a parking permit.
Next door to Ray’s coffee and plant store, Kana Winery sees similar issues. Megan Prescott says she’s worked at the tasting room since 2011. Every time Yakima has tried to charge for downtown parking, clientele go elsewhere.
With being a winery, tastings can sometimes take up to two hours alone. If someone parks on the street before going into Kana Winery, they’ll have to move their car just after drinking alcohol.
“We want people to stay and enjoy their time, bring in some food, stay for a few hours and be good to drive home,” says Prescott.
Prescott and Ray have presented their concerns to the Yakima City Council over parking. City Council deliberated months, extending a parking moratorium until a compromise was found.
The Alignment Co. and Kana Winery still want change.
“I’m just hoping that it won’t go over well so that we can get back to free parking,” says Prescott. “That’s the goal after all. It’s good for the downtown area. It brings people in.”
“I wish we would look at how to focus on economic development, economic growth,” says Ray. “We can invest into our community in a way that creates impact.”
The City Council has previously stated that the new system will have to be evaluated regularly to see if it works. Prescott expects the system to only last 60 days before changes are needed.
“It’s a better step, but I still don’t think it’s done yet,” says Ray. I think we’re gonna revisit this in the future.”
