(PHOTO AND STORY: KHQ.COM)
Kara visits downtown Spokane frequently to shop at Apple and other stores. She always parks at a metered spot because of the easy street access.
"It does take a little time to get things done in there," Kara said when she is at the Apple store.
Kara will usually fill her meter for the maximum amount of time to park in that single spot and will go back out to fill it again if she needs few more minutes "I think that the meter component in Spokane is really difficult to avoid, "she added
But starting in July, if Kara gets caught refilling the meter she could get a ticket. Back in October Spokane City Council passed a resolution to get more traffic in and out of those spaces by limiting the amount of time you can park. How will they track it? There's license readers on those little carts that parking enforcement drives around town.
This news isn't making Kara too happy.
"It seems like inherently the system is not set up in Spokane correctly if the city is trying to disincentivize folks from parking or using their cars downtown."
The City Of Spokane is hoping that won't happen. Instead the city's goal is to put this system in place and have workers and other long term parkers stop hogging metered spaces and park in longer term lots.