Parking Meters Meetup Tonight

, Healdsburg City Council has called a public meeting at 6 p.m. May 10 at to discuss possible changes to parking in the downtown.

One of the options is to install parking meters in the downtown streets, as exist in other Sonoma County cities such as Santa Rosa.

Currently, parking on Healdsburg's main streets -- such as around the Plaza -- is free, but limited to three hours at a time. Healdsburg officials, faced with a $1 million deficit in the general fund -- which covers police and , among other services -- are looking for ways to generate revenue.

The city is on the November ballot for a half-cent sales tax increase. A special public meeting on that plan is set for 6 p.m. Monday at Healdsburg City Hall.

According to an article in the Press Democrat, two types of parking meter kiosks are under consideration. One would be similar to the Santa Rosa "pay and display" where you put in money for a certain amount of time and post a ticket with your payment in the windshield.

The other would be a "pay in advance" kiosk that is hooked up to parking enforcement, which is notified when the meter is expired. People could sign up for "smart phone" notifications so they could return to their cars to avoid a ticket.

To read the Press Democrat article, click here.

Both Healdsburg merchants and visitors interviewed by the Press Democrat were unhappy about the prospect of parking meters.

What do you think?

Take our poll below or post a comment. See you at the parking workshop on May 10!