Free parking downtown for holiday shoppers! Come and get it - but be sure to arrive by 8 a.m. or so. Hundreds of office workers will be parking on the streets near their jobs, and remain parked for eight or nine hours.

As a retailer, it is disheartening to see that all street parking is occupied hours before any nearby shops are even open for business.

A vibrant downtown needs a mix of restaurants, retail, cultural venues, residences and offices. But we all compete for space. Parking meters and regulations provide necessary turnover.

The parking commission's "gift" of free parking has gone to the wrong people. Free, unregulated parking equals no parking.

- Barbara Meyers of Bellingham, via Letters to the Editor