Parking and Social Media in Kent — #DTownBuzzKill?

Parking. It's been a hot topic in Kent for awhile now. 

Many are happy with some improvements, and the fact that the new garage is free this month, but many are griping about the cost to park on social media, according to Kent City Manager Dave Ruller in his most recent blog. 

Patch asked its readers on Facebook about their thoughts on parking downtown. Here's what they had to say. 

With the news that parking at the PARTA deck is free until April, Ruller said he's noticed "the social networks have started to light up with questions of paying for parking in downtown Kent. In particular we’re hearing some rumbling about the prospect of metered parking stations planned for later this year on certain downtown streets."

So here's the answer: Paid parking isn't in Kent ... yet. 

Motorists should expect paid parking "probably in June for the PARTA deck and fall for the new on-street parking stations."

Rates for parking have not yet been determined, Frank Hairston, director of marketing for PARTA, previously said. 

Here's how Ruller said the cost will be determined:

"We took a balanced, market-based approach with the downtown parking plan — if you want to park at the front door there’s a small price to pay but the further out you go the cheaper the parking becomes, and there’s plenty of free parking within a couple of blocks walk.  In actual numbers, about 50 percent of the total 1,150 parking spots downtown will be free and one out of four parking spots will be metered so we think that leaves plenty of options for people to find a price point that works for them."

So, it's likely that it could cost about a quarter to park close by many of downtown's shops. 

"Because this is a merchant-driven parking plan, we’re calling the likely .25 cents parking charge a 'Quarter for Commerce.' The message is if you want small mom and pop shops to survive they need your help not only by you purchasing goods in their stores but also by keeping the parking spaces free flowing so more customers can come in and buy too," Ruller wrote. 

He said that the cost is not to make a profit for the city, but that any money used for parking will be dumped back into the maintenance of the downtown area — trash cans, street cleaning, etc. 

For more information, read Ruller's full blog post.