Taos merchants and residents urge pause to paid parking kiosks, offer time-limited free-parking pilot

At the Oct. 22 Town of Taos council meeting, a string of merchants and residents urged elected officials to pause the town's recently installed paid parking kiosks, saying the machines have led to sharp downtown sales declines and are deterring local customers during ongoing street construction.

Polly Ray, whose time-limited free-parking plan was repeatedly cited by speakers, told the council the alternative keeps parking free but enforces two-hour limits near shops and longer limits for employee lots, using a circulating enforcement vehicle to record license plates and issue fines. "With this plan, there's free parking for everyone in all lots and garages at all times," Ray said during her presentation, adding that turnover increases daily customers and local sales.

Merchants and residents described dramatically reduced foot traffic after kiosk installation. In testimony and a merchant survey cited at the meeting, speakers reported average sales declines of about 30% this past summer and said some shops saw business drop by as much as 50%. Priscilla Eshelman, a downtown merchant, said the kiosks are difficult to use in daylight because of screen glare and that customers often give up when they cannot see the instructions.

Representatives of the Taos Roundtable said petition efforts opposing the kiosks had collected hundreds of signatures: the speaker reported 369 online signatures plus multiple batches of paper signatures (several hundred more combined). A downtown business owner, reading a written statement from Preska Winslow, asked the manager to pause paid parking until road work is complete and a new parking plan is drafted, or for the council to call a special meeting to consider a temporary pause.

Supporters of the free time-limited model told the council it could be implemented quickly, with minimal new cost, and could be piloted while construction continues. Council did not take immediate formal action on the public requests during Citizens Forum; the matter was put on record for further consideration.

Community members at the meeting also raised related concerns — including an unresolved public-health complaint about dead birds in an old plaza theater — and asked for clearer town communication and faster remediation of public hazards.

The council did not vote on a moratorium at the Oct. 22 meeting. Speakers asked for a pause or a policy pilot before winter; further council consideration or a special meeting was requested by several presenters.