Parking problems persist in Pacific Grove

Pacific Grove police officers issued 287 parking tickets in May — a huge increase from the 42 citations issued in the previous month.

However, that increase isn’t for the reasons you might expect. It turns out that in May, there was an increase in parking enforcement compared to prior months.

City officials say the Pacific Grove Police Department has had to pull its parking enforcement officers off the street to cover shifts at the front desk — that’s made the parking situation more of a headache for some in the downtown area.

In the heart of downtown on Lighthouse Avenue, there’s a two-hour window to leave your car unattended.

“I’ve been here 22 years,” said Pacific Grove Chamber President Moe Ammar. “I’ve never seen it this vibrant and as a result, people are coming downtown and parking.”

That’s good for business owners, but maybe not for customers.

Amy Hamner of Holly’s Lighthouse Cafe said some of her regulars are now having a hard time parking. And with only timed parking on Lighthouse Avenue, parking enforcement is meant to help with rotating customers in and out. However, with the staffing issues, police say there’s been comparatively little enforcement.

“We have two full-time people that do parking enforcement and for the most part, they’ve been reassigned to the front office,” said Pacific Grove Police Commander Cassie McSorley.

So why the spike in May then? Police said they started sending officers out part-time more that month — mostly in response to complaints from businesses.

Between the two parking enforcement officers, they usually issue anywhere between four and 600 citations per month — for an average of about 6,000 citations per year.

And if that two-hour window isn’t enough for you to do your dining and shopping and you wind up with a parking ticket, Ammar has a solution.

“What we typically do is offer 30 dollars — the cost of a citation — for dinner or lunch anywhere in downtown Pacific Grove,” he said.

Those offers are made on a case by case basis — with proof of your receipt.

The staffing shortage at the Pacific Grove Police Department isn’t the result of budget cuts, surprisingly. Officials say it’s just a matter of people leaving on their own terms. Fortunately, the department is in the hiring process and should be back to regular staffing totals soon.