Do parking meter cost increases, doubling parking fines and increasing the hours for plugging the meters from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. make Keene a friendlier, more inviting place to shop?
If Nathaniel Stout (“Parking increases are the only fair way,” April 16) thinks so, he is wrong.
I have been in business on St. James Street for well over 45 years and I can tell you there is no bigger drawback to shopping in Downtown Keene than the parking meters and parking fines. It would be very unusual for our customers to choose new flooring, bedding or furniture in less than 30 minutes. So when they lose track of time and find a ticket on their windshields upon exiting our store, they get extremely upset. I have heard many customers make the comment (even after I pay their tickets) that they will never shop Downtown Keene again. (more…)
Kudos to downtown business owner Peggy Schauffler for speaking up against the parking enforcement in Keene in her recent letter to the editor to the Keene Sentinel. In the letter she describes the constant negative feedback she receives from customers regarding Keene’s parking enforcement. She indicates that people tell her they are less likely to shop downtown due to the parking enforcement and she herself says she refused to shop downtown prior to starting a business there!
If the city council wanted to do something good for the downtown, they should eliminate the parking department entirely and let business and downtown property owners decide for themselves how to handle parking. Of course, don’t expect a single city councilor to put that idea on the table. If we’re lucky, they’ll stop the proposed increase, but that won’t bring people back downtown who refuse to shop there TODAY.
Here’s Peggy’s letter:
“I hate coming to Keene!” I looked up as a customer walked through the door.
I said, knowing the root of the problem, “What’s the problem?”
They replied “I have never been in a city before where the meter people are so unfriendly.”
Conversations on meter readers is a continual topic in my store, and I have yet to hear one that is pleasant. (more…)
After the 420 celebrations had hit Keene and Manchester in 2009 on a daily basis, liberty activists created semi-yearly 420 events at the Concord state house, one on November 5th, the other on April 20th. The April event turned five this year, and dozens gathered on the steps of the state house to smoke cannabis in defiance of the insane “war on drugs”.
As has been the tradition NH natives and Free State Project participants first held signs and conversed out by Main Street before walking to the state house steps to officially kick off the event.
FSP early mover Rich Paul, the event organizer, who was absent last year due to being incarcerated for selling the illegal flowers, once again took the helm and megaphone to issue his standard call to action,
“We smoke these in remembrance of lost liberties and in hope for a day when the people do not fear their government, because the government fears the people! Smoke ’em if you got ’em!”
Cannabis was smoked by many and even a couple of NH state representatives got into the action, including Mike Sylvia, who had pledged to toke up if there were enough people wearing fancy outfits to the event. Kudos to Mike and all the others who had the courage to come out and face possible misdemeanor charges for possession of a plant. Of course, as with previous years, the police left us alone – this year not even making an appearance besides driving by on Main St.
It’s time for drug prohibition to end. If you love freedom, please move to NH and get active! Already in NH? Check out the 420 Foundation and NH NORML as well.
As has occurred annually since 2010, the 4/20 celebration is organized to proceed as usual on the state house lawn in Concord, New Hampshire. The disobedience rally in the supreme political venue provided by the state house originally occurred at the revered time on Guy Fawkes Day of 2009, and became a yearly occurrence when a larger group held a celebration in April of 2010. Free Concord has covered the event in 2011, 2012, and 2013, and is expected to collect content from the ritual again. Check out the facebook event page for details on the upcoming festivities.
In this week’s historical installment of AKPF #1, we are exposed to select Ridley Reports of recent months past, with minor additions inserted as well as a redacted finale from the Cheshire TV controversial after hours program Black Sheep Rising, wherein parking rates are discussed. This episode of AKPF #1 broadcasts Monday 14 April 2014 at 7:00pm on Cheshire TV.
00:00 – Warning disclaimer to Cheshire TV audience
00:10 – Dublin illustrations through MiniDV eyes, landscape town building (Ex cop flees Ridleycam)
01:42 – Peter Sturdy Thomas runs from Ridleycam and scampers away, head hanging low, despite his former employment as a police officer and private investigator; Peter Flimsy Sturdy.
04:43 – Shadowy figure rantings to Ridley of disillusionment in Keene circles which he had wished to interject himself (Camo-clad Constitutionalist demands to be sued by city)
08:50 – Driving in circles around Central Keene somewhat confusedly anthem advertisement by Dave Ridley
09:46 – The comedy of the commons – The joyous fun among the political angst of the collective proletariat (Fighting cop state doesn’t have to be serious)
14:25 – More from a camoman on Ridley’s Report outside of the Concord BEARCAT city council central committee vote (Banned Keene activist still supports Free Keene) (more…)
If the people calling themselves the “City of Keene” actually cared about business owners, they’d eliminate the parking department that is driving customers OUT of the downtown. Another letter to the Sentinel was published this Friday from a local business owner, this time by John Croteau of Syd’s Carpet and Snooze Room. Croteau explains he’s lost countless frustrated customers over the years since parking meters were installed in Keene:
