Published: May 13, 2008 11:04 am         

It helps

City opens 60 more parking spaces

The city of Cumberland's decision to make 60 quick-turnaround spaces available to the public in the Center City Parking Garage falls into the category of "Every little bit helps."

Where to park when going "downtown" may be a problem for motorists, but it's also a headache for those who manage the logistics of those parking spaces.

Keyser's Mayor and Council recently took some heat for replacing its downtown parking meters that charged 10 cents an hour with new meters that upped the fee to 25 cents for a half-hour.

Cumberland experienced a similar flap last year with its decision to raise monthly parking fees at the city's municipal lots and garages.

Parking violators here frequently receive warnings, although they can be subject to a fine of $25 - but that's a fraction of what the infraction can cost in big cities.

In Washington, cars that are parked legally one minute become illegally parked the next - whether the meter is fed or not - if they are in a zone that bans parking during the rush hour, but not at other times. Visitors to the nation's capitol frequently watch as illegally parked cars are towed away on rollback trucks.

Cumberland Police Lt. Greg Leake is in charge of the Municipal Parking Authority and deserves credit for listening to the concerns of the downtown business community. Most of the Center City garage's low-level, easy-access parking had been rented out on a monthly basis, meaning that the public had to go to the top levels to park. The new arrangement frees 60 spaces up for use by the public.

We've also heard many complaints about how the city wants people to come downtown for Friday After Five or the various festivals, but provides little easy-access parking.

The Center City garage contains mainly rental spots, but the parking authority wants to open it to flat-fee first-come, first-served parking on the above occasions. It's addressing other issues and has made parking free on municipal surface lots and side streets on weekends and after 5 p.m. on weekdays.

These are good changes. As we said, every little bit helps.