Why isn't Brattleboro talking strategically about parking? Why doesn't it reconsider not just the meters in the Harris lot, but the whole way parking is managed townwide?
Brattleboro's Parking Enforcement department is an “enterprise” agency, which means it's like a business that has to pay for itself, and hopefully make a little money for the town from parking fees and fines. But while breaking even is a good goal, it's more important to have parking policies that maximize convenience to shoppers and other visitors, and that maximize benefits to merchants as well.
To accomplish these ends, the town needs to think more strategically.
A few years ago, in a strategic move, the town installed electronic meters that accept smart cards. You insert the smart card, wait a moment, pull it out, and the meter is loaded with the maximum amount of time available. Before you leave the parking space, you insert the card again and get credit for the unused time recorded on the card. In other words, you pay only for the minutes you actually used. That's not an option when you put coins in the meter, which is why it is called a “smart card.”...
John Sebastian, the songwriter, singer and storyteller who burst on the scene in the 1960s with the Lovin' Spoonful and is still spreading the gospel of American roots music, will appear at the Latchis Theatre in a benefit concert on behalf of the region's struggling farmers. The Strolling of...