Somebody's Parking in my Spot!

It’s a cool, breezy Saturday morning and the farmers and other vendors are pulling into the parking lot on Franklin Avenue to begin the hour-long set-up.  The day promises to be warm and cloudy, but my constant check with the radar continues to confirm that the 70% chance of thunderstorms is just brushing past us to the south. The market will likely be bustling because the strawberries are here, and there’s another great event downtown. The only problem is, five vendor spots are occupied by vehicles that were most likely quite wisely left in the lot overnight by someone who knew enough not to get behind the wheel of a car.

Haymaker Farmers Market has been in a complicated land use situation since it began 18 years ago, and the city’s current parking issues are turning up the volume on that complication. If you spend any time downtown and bring your car lately, I’m sure that parking is on your mind.

Basically, the market is squatting on land that is owned by both the railroad and by the Kent Historical Society. Both the north and south lots on either side of the Haymaker overpass are leased from the railroad by The Pufferbelly and by the Franklin Avenue Pub, who have graciously allowed the market to continue to set up for 23 Saturdays a year at no cost. This location for the market is perfect for both vendors and customers. Vendors can park their vehicles with their booth, and customers can take advantage of street-side parking, easily access the market on bike, on foot, and with strollers, as well as enjoy easy proximity to a thriving downtown.

This year, the pub put up signs along the fence in the south lot saying there is no overnight parking allowed and that violators will be towed. I’d rather not have to bother Becky Archer at 8 a.m. to call for five tow trucks. It would be tricky to get one in to pull these cars out anyway, when there are a half dozen tents haphazardly set up around them, with tables displaying locally grown greens, fresh baked breads, cheese, cut flowers, and plants.

Last week was particularly bad with three cars in the south lot, and two in the north lot. The cars blocked the path for customers to walk the length of the market, and made it difficult for them to reach the vendors set up on the south end. There have been instances of owners coming back to get their car in the middle of the market and being angry because they aren’t able to maneuver out of the lot. Last week one fellow returned to his car, got something out of the back seat, and went on his way, even though there was plenty of room for him to move the vehicle.

Of course, there’s not much we can do other than appeal to the community to at least park along the fence if they need to leave their car overnight. Perhaps we can put up a few seasonal, semi-permanent signs in that lot explaining that on Saturdays from May-October, the lot is reserved for the best farmers market in Portage County.  In the meantime, the show must go on, and we’ll adapt in place like any true Midwesterner would. 

See you at the market, rain or shine, with or without extra cars!