CARIBOU, Maine — The rules surrounding the Hatch Drive parking lot are an important issue to the city government as well as surrounding businesses, and City Council will be voting on the rules and ordinances for the lot on Monday, March 14.
According to City Manager Austin Bleess, council members will vote on overnight parking regulations as well as the two-hour parking ban. As of now, these two restrictions are temporarily lifted, but that may change after the March 14 vote.
The parking regulations were in place to allow more unique visitors to park their vehicles in the downtown area, but these rules can also act as a hindrance to the employees of nearby businesses.
One of those nearby businesses is Virtual Managed Solutions (VMS) on Sweden Street. Business owner C.B. Smith is concerned that a two-hour parking restriction has the potential to cause his employees unnecessary stress.
“As a business owner focused on economic development in Caribou, these are very trying times for us,” said Smith. “We’d just like to go to work and do what we’re committed to do, and that is to create jobs in Caribou. There are at least 10 businesses that would be negatively affected by a two-hour parking ban, and that includes retail stores.”
Smith adds that the two-hour parking regulations may cause him to move his business to another location, as it is unreasonable for all of his employees to stop work to move their vehicles every two hours.
“I’d have to duplicate our entire network somewhere else,” explained Smith. “It will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to duplicate the computers, phones, desk, and workspace. Then, it would be almost impossible to sell the old building unless it’s going to be a retail center, but even then, where would everyone park?”
County Qwik Print, located next to VMS, could be negatively affected by both the overnight parking ban as well as the two-hour parking regulations. Anissa Levesque, who owns the business with her husband Dave Levesque, is concerned about how the parking could affect her business and employees.
“The two-hour parking regulation is very unnecessary,” said Levesque. “We, as business owners and employees, respect other businesses. The only people who park in front of us are other customers while our employees park in the Hatch Drive lot. The parking ban would force our employees to stop what they’re doing and go move their vehicle every two hours. This ends up hurting employers because it cuts into production time. Where are these employees supposed to park without having to move their vehicle?”
Levesque added that, since nearly 10 entities utilize overnight parking on Hatch Drive, an overnight parking ban could pose significant problems for a number of people. She also believes the proposed alternative of parking in the Sweden Street Plaza will cause more issues.
“We should not have to walk a quarter of a mile away to park in the Sweden Street Plaza,” said Levesque. “We encounter all sorts of safety issues, especially in the winter, when walking to that lot.”
Levesque urges all those who could be affected by these regulations to attend the Monday, March 14 City Council meeting at 6 p.m. and voice their concerns.
