OUR VIEW

Parking in Moscow not worth the complaining

People like to complain. It’s in our nature.

Why can’t those career politicians in D.C. get anything done?

How about that overpaid football coach — will he ever win the Apple Cup?

And, of course, why can’t the city council do something about the downtown parking problems?

Depending on who is standing on the soapbox, parking in downtown Moscow is bordering on a city emergency or not a problem at all.

Today, we think if falls closer to the not-a-problem-at-all category, but odds are that won’t be the case several years down the road.

At this point, parking can always be found — but it may mean you have walk a block or two, which can be a hinderance for those who have mobility issues. For most others, it is just a minor inconvenience, but it is something to complain about nonetheless.

Those minor inconveniences will some day turn into more pressing troubles. Moscow will continue to grow, and the student population at New Saint Andrews College will likely more than double in the coming years, thanks to the City Council’s questionable decision to grant the school a condition use permit to operate a music conservatory at the former Cadillac Jack’s building.

Those limited parking spots are going to become harder and harder to find.

“I think that parking is going to become the issue soon,” Councilor Gina Taruscio recently told the Daily News.

It is not necessarily a bad issue for a city to have.

It means the town is growing and that its downtown is prospering. No empty storefronts and filled parking spots are signs of a healthy downtown.

Still, the city would be failing if it didn’t closely examine the situation and prepare for future growth.

There are numerous solutions being bandied about by the public and city officials.

Some on the more extreme side would like to see New Saint Andrews College booted out of downtown — or at least stopped from completing its planned expansion — but that’s not happening. Limiting education facilities downtown in the future would, however, be a prudent move.

Others, like City Councilor Brandy Sullivan, are suggesting it may be time to consider parking meters and reduce the three-hour time limits on Main Street to one hour or 90 minutes.

Such a move may incentivize some to park away from Main Street, leaving those prime spots for shoppers and others doing business.

It is an option certainly worth exploring.

Of course it will only give us something new to complain about.

— Devin Rokyta, for the editorial board