Guilty As Charged!
No Contest!
On Saturday morning I ventured downtown to meet a few folk for a bit of coffee and conversation. I know it was just a little after 10:15 am when I parked in a metered on street spot.
For a moment I couldn't remember if there was in fact free parking on a Saturday in an effort to encourage people to support downtown merchants. Actually that would seem like small change when you consider what city hall is willing to throw into downtown.
I decided not to take a chance of the free parking idea and put my loonie into the meter which registered 2 hours. I noted that the meter was not to be 'plugged' meaning that 2 hours was the maximum parking I could purchase in this spot.
I make absolutely no excuses, nor do I take issue with the nice man from Robbins who was just doing his job.
The coffee and conversation went into a little over time and I was indeed 20 minutes beyond my allotted time for which I was given the honor of paying the $30 parking violation ticket I had been awarded.
In future I will suggest we meet at either the Starbucks or McD's at Terminal Park, as you can in fact chat for more than 2 hours without risking a $30 fine.
It seems the Mayor and this Council are doing everything in their power to drive shoppers and business away from the downtown core. I rarely go anymore as it's the only shopping area that charges for parking.
ReplyDeleteI sure wouldn't want my business located downtown.