Business owners and residents flood Poulsbo meeting to oppose paid parking proposal

A steady stream of downtown business owners, nonprofit representatives and residents filled Poulsbo City Hall on Feb. 19 to oppose a proposed paid-parking plan for the waterfront and Front Street corridors.

Speakers included small-business owners who warned that even modest fees would deter customers and hurt employees on fixed incomes. "Asking employees who make minimum wage and some who are only part-time workers to pay for monthly parking permits is not a solution, but a problem," Ginny Cowan told the council, citing the financial strain on members of her nonprofit artists’ cooperative and estimating permit costs that would be unsustainable for her group.

Several speakers recommended alternatives. Julie Wilson, who identified experience in parking and tourism, suggested using underutilized church lots, valet services and clearer signage to increase capacity and turnover before moving to paid parking. "There's opportunity to evaluate the current system and enforce the three-hour parking," she said, citing West Seattle as an example where paid parking pushed customers elsewhere.

Many speakers also raised accessibility concerns for seniors and people with mobility limitations. Dr. Andrea Legge (who said she is one of the owners of Pacifica Medicine in downtown Poulsbo) said patients—often on fixed incomes or with limited mobility—could be deterred from healthcare visits if parking became costly or difficult to use. "If they had to pay, it would just be one more impediment for them to get healthcare," she said.

What residents want: commenters repeatedly urged the council to strengthen enforcement of existing time limits, expand signage and pilot shuttle or valet options before imposing a paid-parking regime. Several urged the council to slow implementation and increase outreach to small business owners and residents before moving forward.