Parking in downtown Paso Robles is up for discussion again, but it's not what you're thinking.
Designated employee parking lots and 30-minute parking spots were up for discussion at Tuesday night's city council meeting under the premise that the downtown paid parking program has hit a permanent halt.
While, legally, the city cannot force employees to park in designated parking lots, it still begs the question of how to open up parking spots to potential customers.
Red Scooter Deli owner, Stephanie Johnston, said while she didn't have an opinion on designated parking for her employees, her employees say it's getting harder to find a spot.
“She's assessed that parking is getting a lot more scarce, so we do need more parking," Red Scooter Deli Team Member Emilio Herrera said. "It doesn't necessarily have to be designated to the employees. The town itself just needs more parking in this area.”
Parking in designated spots in downtown Paso Robles has been a challenge for some employees, especially during the heatwave.
“We have one coworker who is 70 years old and she does park in the front because we're not going to have her go all the way to the back and everything like that," Herrera said "For the younger people, it’s fine."
Right now, employees of downtown businesses don't have restrictions as to where they can park.
While there was a mutual agreement by city council members to keep the 35 30-minute parking spots, what to do about enforcing employee parking sparked debate.
“The one thing that we haven't done is bring the employees into it," Paso Robles community member Sharon Foster said. "I hear from them all the time. They have wonderful ideas. If you're going to ask people to do something, to support something, then you need to bring them in on it.”
That's what the city council ultimately came to the conclusion of regarding the situation Tuesday night.
Staff members plan on reevaluating the situation to come up with plans while implementing the employees and their employers in the downtown area.
Surveys and in-person meetings were brought to the table as a way to meet and discuss the future of employee parking downtown.
There are currently four designated lots for employees who purchased their $5 permits which are costing the city $12,000 a year.
