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Downtown business owner warns new parking kiosks and 2-hour limits could hurt recovery
Summary
Rafa Massage owner Lynn Mosher Howell told the council that proposed two-hour kiosk meters and new payment kiosks risk curtailing downtown commerce and urged thorough testing, a consumer-education campaign and consideration of smaller advertising spends instead of large equipment outlays.
Lynn Mosher Howell (Rafa Massage) told the council that after 11 years in business downtown she pivoted several times and that prior meter changes in 2015 had disrupted businesses. Howell warned that a proposed system with a two-hour moratorium could force customers to leave downtown after two hours and asked whether the city has tested how the kiosks would affect service businesses that rely on multi-stop visits. “So what I'm saying is make sure you kick the tires on it,” Howell said, urging a pilot, troubleshooting, and an education campaign before the city spends what she described as “a half $1,000,000” on new meters.
Why it matters: Howell framed the change as a business-recovery and customer-flow issue, saying downtown discretionary spending supports restaurants and services and arguing that shorter parking windows risk reducing time customers spend locally.
Council context: The speaker asked whether the new system will allow longer stays by using existing payment options (credit card, app, cash) and whether merchants and residents were consulted; the transcript records no immediate staff presentation answering those technical and policy questions during public comment.
What’s next: The transcript shows the comment was part of the public-comment period and that the council moved on to other agenda items; any technical evaluation or pilot plan is not recorded in this session.
