Downtown’s Parking Meters Just Changed And Businesses Are Paying the Price

What you may not have noticed is that the City of Tacoma has quietly changed your downtown parking experience.  That little ritual of paying, printing a ticket, and sticking it inside your window is gone.  Now every meter payment is tied to your license plate.  No press release, no public announcement, just a rollout that turns your daily parking into a logged record.  Whether you like it or not, residents and visitors are now being tracked through their parking sessions.

Your privacy is a real concern, not a movie plot.  This isn’t paranoia or a Hollywood dystopia, people are upset for a very real reason.  Downtown parking now requires your license plate for enforcement, and while the city will say it’s just for convenience, residents worry about how that information could be used.  Especially considering how Federal agencies like ICE (for example) have used police cameras and license plate data to track people.  Tacoma residents don’t take this lightly, and they shouldn’t have to.  You pay for your parking, you expect to be done, not logged or tracked without notice.  And the fact that the city didn’t tell anyone this was happening only fuels the frustration.  Furthermore… what are they doing with that information?  Nothing?  Anything, besides parking enforcement?  Who’ll have access? The point is, they didn’t tell us it was happening and they didn’t tell us what, if anything, was being done with that data.  Who will have access to it and what will be done with that data… we are owed an explanation.

Let me be clear. I’m all for progress and all for the latest and greatest technology.  Yes, it’s more convenient not to have to return to your car and stick a ticket in the window.  Yes, it’s more convenient to pay for more time without leaving your destination.  Yes, in many ways it is a better system.  But… at what cost?  At what cost to your trust, your privacy, and your sense that your city respects you?  Do you really think they did this solely in your best interests of convenience? Progress is welcome, but sneak attacks, lack of transparency, and roadblocks for local businesses are not.  Especially at a time when traffic cameras are being used outside of their original intent by government agencies who no longer feel the need to respect the Rule Of Law much less common decency.  The fact that the city decided to do this without a heads up at a time when public trust and confidence is at possibly an all-time low.

I first learned about this change while being prompted to enter my license plate into the meter to park downtown, to shop.  “Hmmmm…. This is new.  When did THIS happen?” I asked myself.  Then, a local business owner clued me in and immediately shared his extreme displeasure with the new system when I walked through his door.  He was livid, angrily telling me that his customers have had enough of the city’s desire to force-feed transit down their throats, further penalizing anyone who simply wants to drive, park, and shop downtown.  Take a look around downtown Tacoma.  Perfectly good parking garages sit red-taped shut.  Downtown businesses are already struggling, and this latest move is another obstacle making it harder for them to succeed.  People are already saying they’ll “never park downtown again” because of this latest stunt.  The last thing Tacoma needs is another reason to keep shoppers away from our downtown businesses.

The Real Numbers. Is It Worth It?

Let’s be honest, street parking downtown isn’t that expensive.  A quarter per fifteen minutes.  That’s one dollar for an hour.  It’s not breaking anyone’s bank.  So the question is… does that dollar really make a meaningful difference in the city’s general fund?  Does it even cover the operating costs for enforcement, system contracts, and administration?  If it doesn’t, then what’s the point?  Is this really creating turnover for businesses if nobody will even come downtown to begin with?  Is it a way to sell us on “cheap parking” or is it just a way to justify getting your plate number? It cannot be all about making things more convenient for you, it’s not going to pull our city out of its deficit… so, they must be benefitting by your parking data. And THAT should be explained to the citizens of Tacoma.

Make it make sense, Tacoma.

Back in the day, when street parking was “free”, you used to face the threat of a parking ticket for staying in one spot past the 2 hour limit.  Parking patrol would chalk your tires, meander around downtown and check back to see if you were still parked in the same spot, longer than the allotted time.  I know firsthand as I worked downtown back in the heyday.  Back when downtown was booming with activity.  It was hustling and bustling, businesses were thriving and downtown was jumping.

Parking meters didn’t start in Tacoma until 2010, coincidentally around the same time that certain parking garages were suddenly closing. Go figure.  Even then, the revenue generated by them was modest.  Reports from early years show that after paying for enforcement, vendor contracts, and administrative costs, the city barely netted tens of thousands of dollars.  Hardly a windfall.  Meanwhile, shoppers would get frustrated, downtown businesses lose potential customers, and perfectly good garages sat empty.  So the big question becomes, who actually benefits from this system?  Not local businesses, not residents, and maybe not even the city, aside from feeding the illusion of modernization.

The Official Spin

I can see it coming already.  Once people start noticing what has happened, city leaders will claim this is a modernization effort.  Easier mobile payments, no more paper, streamlined enforcement.  Sure, technically true.  But here’s the rub… the people we elect to local office made this happen.  This isn’t some faceless tech decision.  This is Tacoma’s leadership quietly flipping the switch and leaving residents and small business owners to deal with the fallout.  Think about that next time a council member or mayoral candidate asks for your vote.  Because this is exactly the kind of modernization you get when city officials prioritize process over people.  I know this matters to people in Tacoma because I’ve been listening to it on the campaign trail for the past 5+ years.  Out of all the conversations that I’ve had, TRANSPARENCY from local government ranks high atop the list of wants and needs from the voters.  THIS shows that our city officials and candidates were not listening.  If they were, they’d have made an effort to keep us in the loop, not just flip the switch. So much for lofty campaign promises.

The Bottom Line Is Simple.  Downtown Is Struggling, and the City Isn’t Helping.

Parking meters are more than just meters.  They’re a signal.  A sign of city leadership that’s tone-deaf to the people who live, work, and invest downtown.  Residents and visitors don’t mind paying for parking.  They mind being blindsided, monitored, and forced to navigate a system that discourages them from supporting the very businesses the city says it wants to grow.  Downtown garages sit locked and empty, in the areas that you want to be, while you circle the block looking for a space that’s close to your destination.

I know, I know… “Well, Steve… if businesses are struggling, then why is it so tough to find parking downtown?  That implies it’s busy.”  The majority of downtown is nearly vacant and there’s an abundance of street parking available.  Try going to McMenamins or Antique Row or even a City Council Meeting without having to scour the area for available parking.  How many chained up parking garages or locked up lots do you pass by before you give up and get raked over the coals by the lot at the base of the Spanish Stairs?  You know exactly what I’m talking about.  You know there are areas that flourish while others struggle.  The majority of open yet empty parking garages in downtown are frankly not where you wanna be.  Not where the businesses are that most people want to frequent.

Business owners pour their hearts and souls into their shops, restaurants, and services, only to have city decisions hamper their efforts.  Tacoma doesn’t need stealth data collection or confusing meter systems.  We need leaders who support the people who support the city and are transparent with their plans.

It Really Is Your Move, Tacoma.

If this bothers you, and it should, speak up.  Attend a City Council meeting, contact Parking Services, demand transparency, accountability, and common sense.  Tacoma residents deserve to know how, why, and when the city makes changes that affect daily life and local businesses.  Because if you don’t, things just like this rollout will keep happening, and downtown businesses, and the people who support them, will keep paying the price.

Then, you’ve gotta ask yourself, what’s next?  What’s the next big move the city makes without full disclosure?  If they can do this, there’s gonna be more coming.  You deserve to know first as do the people whose businesses depend on the city to make decisions that’ll boost their bottom line instead of plunging them deeper into the red.