Please send the mayor and city council a brief email (to council@durhamNC.gov) asking them to
keep free parking on Ninth Street and in the Ninth Street lot. City staff is recommending
to the council that the city begin charging for parking on Ninth Street, to pay
for expenses associated with the new development on the west side of the
street. But the new development is bringing the city plenty of new revenue to
pay for these expenses—and to keep the parking free.
Paid parking will discourage people from shopping on Ninth
Street, it will create the need for guards to be
posted on the sea of free parking just about to open between the new Harris
Teeter and Ninth Street, and it will discriminate
against people who shop during the daytime, since parking will be free after 6:00 p.m. So you will be able to park for free
to come to Ninth Street to
drink late at night, but you will have to pay to park if you want to buy books
at The Regulator during the day.
If none of this makes much sense to you, please send an
email telling the city council that you support keeping parking on Ninth
Street free.
Thank you!
From The Regulator and the other independent locally owned businesses on Ninth Street.
2 comments:
Thank you for letting us know about this proposed foolishness. The point that was made about the Harris Teeter parking lot is valid indeed. In addition, having law enforcement officers patrolling for people who are overdue on parking meters is not a good use of their time or Durham's money, nor does it improve police-community relations.
I want to continue to support Durham by spending my money at locally owned businesses, not by paying for parking. Ninth Street succeeds as a business district because of the existence of places that can not be found everywhere. If I wanted to live at the mall, I would do so, and pay for parking indirectly.
here's my letter to them:
Please do not turn Durham into Chapel Hill.
Please do not turn Ninth St. into Franklin St.
**Please keep parking FREE 24/7 on Ninth St.**
Please consider protecting Durham and its character so that, indeed, development will thrive and not just become the boring, pain in the arse, same ol' same ol' like every other college town USA....which, by the way, gets hit by economic downturns.
When everything's the same and you have limited resources, you're going to go where things are different for a change of scene/pace/enjoyment.
Chapel Hill, Franklin St, Carrboro... what a pain in the arse to DEAL with... so....I and most everyone I know...don't. Why deal with the traffic & the parking of those places? Not worth it. At all. We keep it local. And local is worth it.
Please do not make Durham a place to DEAL with.
The development going on there (ninth st) has already brought enough same ol' same ol'.
IT's THE DIFFERENCE that makes Durham.
It's THE DIFFERENCE that keeps it thriving even in tough economic times.
The Draw to Durham is THE DIFFERENCE.
Please preserve it.....otherwise, Durham will end up just like every other place....and will, eventually, be hurting... like every other place eventually does.
Protect. Draw the line. Take a stand. Clue in--- it's THE DIFFERENCE that MAKES DURHAM.
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