Negative space stymies drivers

EXETER, N.H. -- Shirley Pitts is so fed up with downtown Exeter's parking crunch that she has started leaving her trusty 1990 Saab at home and walking a mile to work.

''I walked into work this morning because last week I had to park on the street and move my car every two hours," said Pitts, owner of Two Flights Down, a consignment clothing store in downtown Exeter. ''It's not a big deal. It's just a pain when I have to carry things."

With more cars than residents registered in town, Exeter is struggling to solve a growing parking problem.

Among the solutions floated so far are the idea of charging a $5-a-year user fee for vehicles registered in town, starting a fund to build a garage or create another lot, and putting long-term meters in municipal lots.

Exeter has no parking meters, according to Town Manager George Olson. The town allows two-hour parking on downtown streets, after which users are fined. And the town's municipal lots are usually full by early morning, he said.

The population of Exeter is 14,058, as of the 2002 US Census. The town counted 15,500 registered vehicles of all types, from cars to buses and sport utility vehicles, as of Oct. 31, according to assistant town clerk Debbie Unger.

Olson said parking woes are mounting.

''We have more cars and trucks than people registered in town," said Olson. ''The long and short of it is there are spaces as a general rule on Water Street and Front Street, where people can run in and buy a book or coffee, but very little turnover in long-term spaces."

Exeter selectmen were scheduled to meet tomorrow to discuss proposing three ideas to voters in March, according to Tracey McGrail, president of the Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce. But McGrail, chairwoman of a chamber task force seeking solutions to the parking problem, said last week she wanted the discussion postponed until Nov. 29.

''The lots are full and at times over capacity, and people are parking in illegal spots because they can't find space," said McGrail. ''Anyone who comes in after the business day starts is likely to have difficulty finding an all-day parking space. Sometimes, they're forced to park on the street, but they have to move their car every two hours or risk a ticket.

''It's gotten to the point where parking has to be addressed," said McGrail. ''We can no longer complain about it. We have to do something about it."

The chamber wants selectmen to back three warrant articles for town voters to decide on in March:

One measure would create a ''transportation enhancement fund" to collect money to pay for recommended solutions to the problem, from a parking garage to a new town lot.

A second warrant article would add a $5 fee to the cost of registering a car each year in town.

A third measure would put long-term parking meters in the town's municipal lots to charge users by the hour. One possibility would be charging 25 cents a day, five days a week, McGrail said.

Dave Walker, senior transportation planner for the Rockingham Planning Commission, said parking in the region ranges from feast to famine depending on the site.

''In some places there's an overabundance of parking, like malls that design for Christmas or the day after Thanksgiving-- the worst day of the year, and that's generally how mall parking is worked out," said Walker. ''Then you go to a place like Exeter, where the downtown has rather tight streets and limited long-term parking. . . . That's really where the crunch is. Employees in downtown Exeter don't have enough parking."

Ann Burke, co-owner of Gallery One Realty in downtown Exeter, said the town needs a garage.

''Because I'm in real estate, I'm in and out a lot, and for me to find a parking space in the public parking lot is very difficult," said Burke. ''You can always find a space on Water Street, but if I forget I'm there I could get a ticket.

''We want to make it easy for people to shop downtown, and if they have to drive around to find a parking space, they could get discouraged," said Burke. ''Exeter's a neat town, but if it's hard to find parking, people won't come."