GRANTS PASS – A moratorium on parking restrictions for the holiday season will not take effect this year. City Councilors voted Nov. 6 to accept a recommendation from the Downtown Parking Taskforce to remove the moratorium this year. All regularly posted parking restrictions will remain in full effect.
Moratoriums in previous years were developed as an effort to welcome visitors to the downtown area for shopping, dining, and recreational activities during the holiday season, but downtown merchants expressed concerns about employees of local businesses “taking advantage of the moratorium,” said vice-chair Rob Pell at the Sept. 25 meeting of the Taskforce.
Pell conducted a survey of downtown businesses and reported 56 of 62 respondents were in favor of maintaining parking enforcement “uninterrupted throughout the year.” Pell also reported 60 respondents were in favor of maintaining a 3-hour time limit, rather than adjusting restrictions to two hours only.
Business owners and employees in the downtown corridor can purchase a permit to park without time restrictions in one of five city parking lots, including the Osprey, Redwood, Brown Bear, Duck, and Salmon lots. Free 3-hour parking is available in the Grasshopper, Owl, and Beaver lots. Parking permits are $20 per month and can be purchased at the Grants Pass Welcome Center, 198 SW 6th Street. Information: (541)476-7574.
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