A Citizen’s Call to Action

HPR letter-to-the-editor writer Lauren Hedman last week informed our readers in our mailbag section that she would “gather the overlooked opinions of downtown residents in order to supply the Parking Commission with the data that should have been aquired in the first place.”

Soon after, Hedman was circulating petitions to gather signatures from folks opposed to new parking restrictions soon to be enforced on Saturdays downtown.

HPR is publishing Hedman’s petition in print and online this week so you can add your voice to the chorus of people asking the city commission to reverse its 90-minute Saturday parking enforcement.

“After moving downtown last summer, I eventually accepted the reality of enforcing 90-minute parking during the week. However, the same concept applied to Saturdays is unnecessary and shows disregard for those of us who call the neighborhood home. Had the parking commission been pursuing its stated objective by considering all parties, the opinions of downtown residents would have been just as valuable as those of downtown businesse owners,” Hedman wrote.

“Plainly stated, the Parking Commission already had a goal in mind ($), and presented 90-minute Saturday parking to the demographic they thought would supply the desired answer.”

HPR commends Hedman for taking the initiative to take action regarding this parking issue. Our concerns are many. Primary now is our realization that not a single city leader has said they will put this issue back on the city commission table. In that light, time works against getting any change implemented. The longer people wait, the less urgent it is to everyone involved.

The horses are out of the barn. The new ordinance is in place. Enforcement begins soon. Never once was there a public hearing asking for input, or notice to the public that this specific issue was “part of’ an overall educational package coming our way about the availability of free parking in evenings and on weekends.” When it went before the city commission, the item was on the consent agenda, so there was no public discussion on it whatsoever, just a rubber stamp.

In a few weeks, hundreds upon hundreds of college students will descend upon Fargo’s downtown. They will be greeted with $15 parking tickets up the wazoo, especially on Saturdays, because they will not even know about the new rules. Too many of them will find a handful of tickets as part of their learning experience. Some will get towed and will have to cough up beaucoup bucks to get their car back from impound.

City leaders are less likely to rethink this later on, we assure you. And if people with concerns do not speak up now, well, you might as well forever hold your peace.

Our recommendation is to clip out the mini-petition printed in this week’s HPR, sign it, and drop it off at HPR’s office or mail it. If responses are nil, we’ll yield to this new ordinance and we will quit complaining. If enough of you care, we’ll make sure Hedman’s cry for help gets the attention it deserves, and that it gets the results it deserves: a reversal of the Saturday 90-minute parking enforcement.

“On its website, the City of Fargo states that the mission of the Parking Commission is to ‘manage, provide, promote and maintain safe, convenient, accessible, attractive and reasonably priced parking facilities that will meet the need of downtown businesses, employers, residents, and visitors,’” Hedman’s letter to the editor in last week’s HPR said.

Her voice coupled with two other published letters opposing the new ordinance and countless comments we’ve heard up and down the street confirm our belief that this one particular ordinance is wrong and needs to be changed.

Sign it and send it. And meanwhile, be prepared to pay up because they want your money.

Watch HPR next week for an update on Hedman’s petition effort.

Questions and comments: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)