Shoppers will now have a little extra time to do their business in downtown Anoka.
by Mandy Moran Froemming
Union Editor
Shoppers will now have a little extra time to do their business in downtown Anoka.
{snippet anoka}Anoka City Council at its April 21 meeting approved a recommendation from the city’s Parking Advisory Board to increase the time for allowed for parking to three hours from the previous two hour limit at several city surface lots.
The move was prompted by a request by Cal’s Corner Restaurant owner Cal Slama who wanted his patrons to have more time to park while eating at his restaurant and shopping in the city.
Slama has said he has received complaints from restaurant goers who have exceeded the parking limit and been ticketed.
The original request was to look at the lots near Cal’s Corner on First Avenue, but the Parking Advisory Board opted to look at the two hour lots across the city.
“We weight the problem,” said Karna Brewer, who is appointed to the board as a member of the Planning Commission. “We would love to have longer parking but who is going to take whose place?”
Brewer acknowledged there are some situations where even three hour parking is not enough – in particular hair salon appointments.
“If you’re getting a tint you can’t just run out there and move your car,” she said.
Those patrons would have to be mindful to park right before their appointment and do their shopping after, instead of before.
Slama believes it would be beneficial to have parking lot times be unrestricted in his area of business.
But there are concerns from the Parking Advisory Board this all day parking would be abused by area employees as well as those working at Anoka County, monopolizing parking spaces meant for shoppers and those who use services in downtown Anoka.
“If employees are taking those spaces then the people who these businesses want as customers have to park farther away,” she said.
She said the board saw increasing the limit by an extra hour as a good compromise that would keep the parking spots from being monopolized.
Changing to a three-hour time limit are the lots at Bridge Square, between Cal’s Corner and the city parking ramp, between Billy’s and Wells Fargo Bank and the Historical Society lot.
There will be no changes to on-street parking or the upper lot at City Hall, which remains at two hours unless specially designated.
Currently, parking violations come with a $9 fine for the first two offenses and $25 for three or more violations within 90 days.
There is free all-day parking in a lot across the street from Sandburg Middle School between Monroe and Madison Streets, but Brewer did say it’s tough to access in the winter and there have been safety concerns because the area is not well lit.
Although there have been no actual safety-related problems reported, she said.
Part of this lot is also marked for Sandburg School staff parking.
The change was unanimously approved by city council.
“This is a healthy move for us,” said Councilmember Phil Rice. “People can stop in and have lunch and still shop a bit.”
He also said the parking enforcement staff are aware of the chronic abusers of the time limits and know it is not typically shoppers visiting downtown Anoka.
Mandy Moran Froemming is at editor.anokaunion@ecm-inc.com
