How one town stopped business owners and staff from parking in front of downtown businesses
Becky McCray
I help you shape a brighter future for your small town, giving you practical steps you can put into action right away. You don't have to know all the answers if you can stay open to new ideas.
One common small town parking complaint is business staff taking up customer parking. I can't tell you how many times I've heard this brought up in discussing downtown businesses.
Sometimes business owners or business employees park right in front of their business or along the Main Street. They might park out front for any number of reasons. Maybe they don't have much room to park around back, or they're just running into their business for a minute, or they need to carry some things in the front.
The problem is that this takes space away from customers. If all the business owners park in front, customers have to park further away, and just might use that as an excuse not to shop downtown.
I just heard the best idea for addressing this from Ivy Wells, Director of Economic and Community Development for Berlin, Maryland. It's a solution that values the businesses and their people while keeping space open for customers and visitors.
They cooperated with a church near downtown to share their parking lot during the week for business owners and staff.
Each person working at downtown businesses received a numbered permit to display in their vehicle. The town sends someone to the designated church lot regularly to check the cars and record the permits they see, in essence collecting a list of who is using the lot. Then they enter those people for drawings for great local gifts. That's a big secret: the gifts are things people really, really want to win.
Ivy said they may add valet service to make it even easier for owners and staff!
It's a simple way to appreciate your business people and make room for more customers to come on in.
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When I visited Caldwell, Kansas, they sat me down for an interview on the Kanokla Chatter podcast. It's about 45 minutes, and you can listen at Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
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2moThis is such a cool idea. Win Win! I saw something similar in Florida. We were staying at the beach and again, parking was a premium. However, a church just a block away from all the restaurants encouraged people to park there and they had a "donation box" where you could make "an offering" for your close parking place. I thought it was genius. I love this idea of rewarding employees to park at the church Becky McCray
Assistant Director of Community and Economic Development at Village of Homewood
2moWe're looking at this exact issue - what perfect timing for this. Love the idea!
Scientist turned storyteller, caregiver and village catalyst learning and sharing ways to unlock the power of neighbors to create wonderful places to grow up and grow old. Learn more: VillageCompany360.com
2moI love this! You share the best ideas Becky McCray!
Growth Strategist & Marketing Advisor. I consult with Print, Media, and B2B Tech companies to improve business value and spur growth. #PrintChat host. Columnist for #LabelandNarrowWeb #PIA #PrintMediaCentr
2moBrilliant to reward the participants!
Bookkeeping Services for Small Businesses
2moBalancing customer convenience with the needs of business owners and staff is key to fostering a thriving downtown environment.💯