Unhappy with parking limit in Fairhaven

On Dec. 16, I drove to Fairhaven to do some shopping and to meet friends for lunch in a local café, thus patronizing local merchants and supporting our local economy. I parked on Harris and spent 2 ½ hours shopping and dining. It would be more convenient, as well as more economical, to shop online and have items delivered to my door. I thought patronizing local businesses was the “right” thing to do. Finding a parking citation when I returned to my car felt like a slap in the face for doing something positive.

Imposing a two-hour limit on parking is a huge disservice to Fairhaven businesses. I find this time limit is arbitrary and unreasonable. Who decided, and on what basis, that two hours is the maximum amount of time I or others should be spending money in Fairhaven? If a limit is needed, I would suggest installing two-hour meters. In downtown Bellingham I can park at a meter and quickly run back to feed the meter if I need more time. In this case, though, I would have had to leave in the middle of lunch, walk two blocks to my car, get in and drive around Fairhaven to find a new parking space before walking back to the café and my friends! Seriously? That cannot possibly sound like a good option to anyone.

I sincerely hope my concerns will spur some second thoughts about this very unfriendly parking policy in the Fairhaven district by whomever has the power to revise it.

This story was originally published January 8, 2016 at 4:01 PM with the headline "Unhappy with parking limit in Fairhaven."