For the most part, The Historic Trust agrees.
Mike True, president and CEO of The Historic Trust, which supports the historic reserve, said people are being respectful of the policy. The concern last year was that downtown commuters would simply relocate from one area of the site to another. True said the issue hasn’t been too pervasive.
Some drivers, including Lisanna Otter, are parking as needed at the West Barracks. Otter works with Miller Nash Graham & Dunn and until recently was parking daily at the barracks.
She received a letter from The Historic Trust notifying her parking required a permit, to her surprise. The letter warned that nonpermitted vehicles are limited to two hours of free parking and risk being towed if left in violation of the site’s policy.
In researching where parking was allowed, Otter said she learned that she’s among many employees looking for alternative parking and choosing to walk from the historic site to downtown.
Now she’s trying to use other forms of transportation when she can. Some days she rides her bike to work, others she takes the bus.
A solution to the parking problems facing the community as a whole may not please everyone, Otter added.
“Nobody likes parking, everybody wants convenience in their commute,” she said. “But I’m not sure that perfect convenience is a human right.”
