The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Since City Council decommissioned them a year ago, the uptown parking meters have been 'out of mind' for shoppers. Now they'll be out of sight as well. Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to remove all of the meters and tender them for sale. They are expected to be ousted by the end of the summer or possibly sooner. "Right now, they sit as a bit of an eyesore," said Councillor Tom Therien. "They're just there, these stupid poles." Councillor Dave Law said removing the meters would improve the efficiency of street and sidewalk cleaning. The meters also hinder snow removal crews to some degree. One concern stemming from the decision revolves around parking, since motorists tend to use the meters as markers when pulling into a vacant spot. Councillor Law mentioned the possibility of painting markers on the curb to help guide motorists. There will be a "learning curve" surrounding the parking issue, in Councillor Therien's' view, but he suggested that the matter might "solve itself." Council's decision was a welcome one for Randy Daneliuk, chairman of the Business Builders Association, a coalition of individuals working on a vision for the community. "We believe that the appearance of the downtown area will be improved without the meters," he said. Leona Kemp, owner of Northern Rainbow's End on Main Street, said she hasn't heard complaints about the meters from customers but welcomes Council's decision nevertheless. See 'Positive' P.# Con't from P.# It was clear at their meeting Tuesday that Council has no intention of reactivating the meters. Council agreed to temporarily decommission the coin collectors in January 2003. After a six-month review and an overwhelmingly positive response, they made the decision permanent. Councillor Therien said if the time ever came that a future Council wanted to reinstate paid parking uptown, they would likely have a superior method at their disposal. Flin Flon Assistant Director of Works and Operations Rick Bacon was unsure of what kind of market exists for used parking meters. "There's always places that need parts, and some places are outright putting meters in, so the demand is probably somewhat there," he said.
