Good news! Â The Keene Sentinel’s Martha Shanahan has a comprehensive article up describing last night’s FOP committee meeting where all five city councilors on the committee voted to table further discussion on the proposed parking fine & rate increases indefinitely, apparently.
I wouldn’t expect to see this back on the table until after the council election this fall. Â Thank you to Dorrie O’Meara and the good people who signed her petition as well as the courageous business owners in downtown who spoke out against this.
Of course, no city councilor really seems to know what to do about parking, though the answer is simple:  turn over ownership of all spaces to the property owners adjacent to them.  Then, let the property owners decide on their own the best way to handle the situation.  The big lots could also be sold to the highest bidder.  Then, the city’s parking department could be abolished entirely.
Further, there has been much discussion in town about a panhandling ordinance, that were it to be enacted, would violate free speech and be struck down at great cost to the city’s taxpayers. Â However, if you take my parking suggestion to the next logical step, and also cede the sidewalks to the private property owners adjacent to them, that turns them into private property and if a private property owner doesn’t want panhandlers, it’s fully within the owner’s rights to have them removed.
Private property solves parking issues and panhandling issues. Â I wonder if any city councilor is brave enough to suggest it?
