Grace period for later parking hours in Santa Rosa is over

For as long as anyone can remember, parking meters in Santa Rosa have operated until 6 p.m.

But on Jan. 2, as part of a series of changes to city parking policies, the hours in the downtown core shifted two hours later.

Instead of operating from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., meters in the busiest downtown blocks began being enforced from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Understandably, lots of people never got the message.

Parking enforcement officers pounced, issuing 72 tickets - not warnings, but $35 tickets - between 6 and 8 p.m. that first evening.

“The rate of tickets that were written after 6 p.m. was relatively high,” parking manager Kim Nadeau said.

So Nadeau switched gears, downgraded the tickets to warnings, and instructed officers to temporarily write warnings for the 6-to-8 p.m. period in the new downtown “premium” parking district, where in addition to later hours, the rates have increased from $1 per hour to $1.50.

The general area of the premium zone is Railroad Square to E Street along Third, Fourth and Fifth streets.

But the city can’t write warnings forever, and the grace period for the later parking meters ended Saturday.

Parking is still free on Sundays, so that means at 6 p.m. today, the $35 tickets will start flying again if people ignore the later hours.

Nadeau said she hopes the new signs, advertising the changes and three-and-a-half weeks of warnings will help get the word out about the later hours.

The parking district’s goal is not to write tickets but to help people comply so parking spaces are easier to find, she said.

“I’m looking at it from, ‘What’s a reasonable amount of time to give people to adjust to a change?’ ” she said.

During January, officers issued 952 warnings during that 6-8 p.m. window, Nadeau said. That’s about 50 per day. Looked at another way, 87 percent of people did pay for parking in the zone during that same period, she said.

New signs on poles and the readouts on the meters list the new hours but don’t exactly highlight them.

They can also be hard to read in the dark.

Ryan and Lasha Brobst parked shortly after 6 p.m. in front of La Rosa Tequileria & Grille in Old Courthouse Square and almost walked away from the spot without paying.

“It’s been 6 p.m. forever!” Lasha Brobst said as she craned her neck looking up at the sign 7 feet up a light pole.

They plunked their quarters into the meter, but were none too happy about it. If the money were going to solve a problem, like homelessness or poor roads in the southwest part of the city where they live, that would be one thing, but they doubted it.

Parking rate increases may not seem like a lot of money, but with the cost of housing, utilities and garbage all soaring, small increases in expenses in already tight family budgets are a big deal, Brobst said, noting they plan to move to Idaho soon.

“It’s a beautiful place, but this is the kind of stuff that’s pushing people out, unfortunately,” she said.

Nadeau said she’s gotten a lot of compliments from people who like the new hours because they now don’t have to pay between 8 to 10 a.m., allowing them to grab a coffee without worrying about feeding the meter.

Downtown merchants can play a big role in helping educate their customers about the changes, which is why the city provided brochures to them and the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber, Nadeau said.

Merchants can also participate in the city’s parking validation program, one of which lets them pay for time in city garages, the other which allows them to pay using the Passport Parking smartphone app, she said.

The City adopted the zone-based parking system, also known as demand-based parking, to increase the cost of parking in the highest demand areas, and keep it lower in the lower demand areas.

The move followed a study that showed it could be difficult to find convenient parking downtown during the 6-to-8 p.m. period, when downtown restaurants and bars are busiest, she said.

“The purpose it is to make it easier for people to find parking downtown,” Nadeau said.

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 707-521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.