Parking meters in Carmel cause headaches for some, businesses say

Parking can come at a premium during busy tourist weekends in some spots on the Monterey Peninsula.

Carmel said it is working to alleviate some of the stress in looking for a spot with its new parking meter program. But NewsChannel 5 is finding out its not always a good thing for business.

Local businesses said there’s a price to pay for the parking meter program and its not one they’d planned on handling.

“I mean just this morning I was asked, do you know how to work these meters and so we’re, the retailers are being pulled outside and showing them how to use them,” local business employee Gary Garcia said.

Carmel is still paying a private company to offer help where it’s needed. However businesses know those people can’t be everywhere at once. But if you want you can bypass the machine, download an app and the minutes count down right on your phone.”

Craig Marquis said he’s been to Carmel before and didn’t know he had to pay for parking on Ocean Avenue this time.

“So far, I call it Doris Day parking. So far I’ve been really lucky in finding spots right where I need to be,” Marquis said, who is visiting from Florida.

That’s when Marquis said he’d just find a spot on a side street where he didn’t have to pay. Carmel police said the program shouldn’t result in clogging neighborhood streets, instead they’re asking drivers and local employees to use the public lots. So far, officers said the parking meter pilot program is making a difference, reducing the number of cars sitting unattended for hours on Ocean Avenue.

“When we started the program it was really 100 percent occupancy, very hard for our visitors, residents, um and anybody coming to Carmel to find a place to park,” Carmel Police Chief Michael Calhoun said.

Calhoun said there’s still some kinks to work out, before deciding whether to continue it or not. City leaders will discuss Carmel’s pilot parking meter program again in May. Calhoun said some new efforts to make it easier to park on Ocean Avenue may be announced next week.