I've been observing the test parking areas, primarily at the Ketchum Post Office, for the past several months, and I, like many others, have been waiting patiently for them to go away. I have concerns regarding this absurd parking idea.
I'm primarily concerned with the money that the citizens of Ketchum have paid for the "study" or the "consultant" that guided the city into thinking this was necessary. Can't the city of Ketchum think of something better to do with our tax dollars? Money aside, it just doesn't work and in no way does it make any sense. Here are my observations:
- People don't like backing up, and backing up into these spots is very difficult because the lines are hard to see looking backwards.
- Because people can't back up properly into these spots, the cars are at odd angles.
· To avoid backing up, people drive along the empty back-up spaces and come in from forward angles.
- In order to back up into these spots, one must pull ahead of a space. When we do this, the car behind us, not knowing what we are doing, follows and is right behind us. Now we can't back up unless he or she backs up, and the car behind him or her backs up. So we continue around the block until we find a space we can drive into forward.
- To avoid backing up into these spaces, people are turning into the spaces on the other side of the road. This upsets people who have gone around the block in hopes of getting the space they can drive right into.
- In a normal forward parking space, backing up is done when the road is clear, and the driver does not have to aim between two hard-to-see lines. This makes so much more sense.
Bottom line, in my opinion, these test parking areas are absurd, and the test should be discontinued. We need those parking spaces, particularly at the post office, and most often they are empty because no one wants to back up.
Jill Brennan
Ketchum
