DECI Suggests Another Paid Parking System Postponement During City Council Meeting
City of Eau Claire first postponed its downtown paid parking implementation from June 1 to Aug. 1
McKenna Scherer, photos by Andrea Paulseth |
Following the City of Eau Claire’s decision to postpone the downtown area’s paid parking system start date – pushing implementation back from June 1 to Aug. 1 – little more had been publicly shared. At the Eau Claire City Council meeting on Monday, June 22, a peek behind the curtain was given by Downtown Eau Claire, Inc. (DECI).
Re-implementing paid parking in downtown Eau Claire has rotated on and off the table since at least 2019. (Notably, the previous version of paid parking in downtown was years ago and accomplished via parking meters; the new system includes kiosks and an app.)
At the June 22 city council meeting, during the open public comment period offered at each meeting, DECI’s Civic and Strategic Communications Coordinator, Kate Felton, suggested another postponement may be in the community's best interest.
“To be clear, we don’t blame (City) staff for this delayed information. We see every day how stretched they are and we see that they’re doing their best with what they have. But it does cause us to wonder whether we’re ready to do this program right.”
KATE FELTON
CIVIC & STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR, DECI
DECI was awarded a contract from the City earlier this year to share communications around paid parking with the public. That paid contract began in March, Felton said, with an intended end-date of June 30 – or “upon final payment to the Consultant,” the contract states.
That contract has not been re-negotiated, Felton said, though DECI expects to continue its communication efforts – accomplished thus far via social media and the website, www.parkec.org – through at least August.
During public comment, Felton said the downtown advocacy organization does not feel fully confident that that Aug. 1 start date is realistic.
“We took on this contract because despite our skepticism, we know that if this program is going to happen, it’s better for everyone if it’s successful,” she said, but fulfilling the contract has proven “challenging.”
There have been months-long delays in communication from the City regarding parking program specifics, according to DECI.
Those details that are still unconfirmed, Felton said, include how many parking payment kiosks there will be and if they will be installed by Aug. 1, among other things.
Since at least May 27 – the day after city council officially postponed paid parking implementation to Aug. 1 – the parking website has stated updates are “coming soon.”
“To be clear, we don’t blame (City) staff for this delayed information,” Felton said. “We see every single day how stretched they are and we see that they’re doing their best with what they have. But it does cause us to wonder whether we’re ready to do this program right.”
Ultimately, Felton shared DECI is asking the council to guarantee three elements of the parking system prior to Aug. 1 – or consider postponing the plan again: ensure payment kiosks are installed and ready to accept coin and credit card payments; ensure all signage is installed; finalize, in writing, new parking resources for downtown employees.
www.ParkEC.org is the official downtown Eau Claire paid parking system information hub, created by DECI per a contract from the City of Eau Claire, which also supplies the information shared on it.
This is a developing story. You can view Volume One's previous coverage of the ongoing downtown paid parking conversation online. Learn more about current paid parking system plans online at www.ParkEC.org. The June 22 Eau Claire City Council meeting was livestreamed via YouTube.
