- 4/22/2010
From Newport Daily News on April 22, 2010
Whether or not valet parking is the “be all-end all” solution to Newport’s parking woes is debatable — in reality, it’s probably only one piece of a complicated puzzle.
But the fact the City Council has not been able to approve an ordinance allowing downtown valet parking on a regular basis since a pilot program was initiated by the Newport County Chamber of Commerce late in the summer of 2008 is indicative of the inertia that all too often plagues city government.
“Just like everything else in Newport, it’s all tied up in red tape,” Steven Cundy, president of the Lower Thames Business Association, said last week after the council did not take action on a proposed ordinance allowing valet parking, but instead sent it back to various city departments for further review. “I think the problem is that they are trying to over-regulate it,” he said.
Indeed. Does the city really need an 11-page ordinance to permit people to get out of their cars and have someone else park and retrieve them? And rather than trying to guess — or, rather, restrict — the hours of operation (the proposed ordinance specifies valet parking only between the hours of 6 p.m. and 1 a.m.), shouldn’t the city work with its chosen vendor to offer the service when it is most in demand, including weekends and during summer festivals?
In fact, Jody J. Sullivan, executive director of the Newport Chamber of Commerce, said the greatest need for valet parking is in the Washington Square area, mostly for day-trippers, and on Lower Thames Street for the evening crowd.
This is something downtown business owners have been pushing for for years, and it seems like one of the least things the city could do to accommodate visitors.
But the proposed ordinance also stipulates a 50-day period between the time an application is submitted and the council’s approval or denial of a permit. With Memorial Day less than five weeks away, that virtually guarantees valet parking will not be in place for the beginning of the summer season.
Sullivan was among those who expressed surprise when the matter was continued last week.
“There is a lot of support for the concept. Everybody seemed to be on board,” she said. “We don’t want to lose the momentum on this.”
It may be too late.
Of course, such heel-dragging and short-sightedness has been emblematic of the city’s discussions about valet parking — and parking in general (Mary Street parking garage, anybody?). Even the pilot valet program, which by most accounts was a success, didn’t get off the ground until August 2008, toward the end of the summer season, so it didn’t get a full-season trial.
All of this means the city is on the verge of entering yet another tourism season without a comprehensive plan — or even a piecemeal approach — to ease downtown’s traffic and parking problems. And that doesn’t bode well for visitors or residents.
