The Commerce Downtown Development Authority (DDA) has a plan for managing parking in downtown Commerce. Whether the city council will adopt the plan is another matter.
Keith Ariail, who chairs the DDA’s Design Committee, submitted the committee’s proposed parking ordinance to the full DDA last Wednesday and said it will be presented to Mayor Charles L. Hardy Jr., city manager Clarence Bryant and police chief John Gaissert for their review before being submitted to the city council for action.
“There is stuff in here we can implement that will help our businesses downtown,” Ariail said.
The parking plan calls for parking time limits in on-street parking areas and some off-street areas in the central business district. It also would prohibit business owners and employees and anyone living in the downtown from parking in on-street parking spaces and certain off-street areas from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. That rule would apply to students of any downtown school as well.
“It is the intent of this subsection to allow any person to use the timed parking area while doing business with the downtown merchants, trades workers and professionals,” the ordinance says. “It is the intent of this section to prohibit use of the timed parking areas as parking space for anyone in pursuit of their own or their employees’ trade, business or profession.”
Others — customers — may park for up to two hours in the regulated spaces. Any business which has on-street parking in front can use a timed parking space for loading or unloading for up to 30 minutes twice a day.
The ordinance would also prohibit parking a vehicle in the downtown to advertise it for sale, to wash, grease or repair it, or for storage.
Enforcement is left up to the police department “or a city employee specially designated by the downtown development authority to enforce the provisions of this article,” the ordinance says.
Tickets are $10 for the first offense, and increase every subsequent offense until they are $75 apiece.
The ordinance also spells out the duty of a “downtown ambassador” - the enforcement person. This individual would patrol the city streets and parking areas and issue citations, but the ordinance notes he or she would also “provide assistance to the public, answer questions, give directions and respond to complaints ... will also provide ongoing education to the public about the downtown parking program.”
That individual would also assist the Downtown Development Authority director on other projects “as required.”
Enforcement of the parking ordinance is likely to be an issue. With the city cash-strapped due to the economy, hiring someone part-time or full-time to police the ordinance may not be possible, and with the Commerce Police Department running short-staffed, it is not likely that parking enforcement will be a priority.
