What About Parking?

The well-publicized triple grand opening and Classic Auto Show weekend added up to a festive event for Waitsburg.

Not since the Days Of Real Sport has the downtown area seen so much traffic. Some visitors came for the car show itself, bringing their classics to Preston Park from all over the region.

Some came because they were intrigued by the new 1950s diner and had heard about it on Facebook. Of course, anyone who likes cars likes the 1950s, by some standards, the peak of automotive creativity and esthetic abundance.

Some came from the Tri Cities, Walla Walla, Seattle and even further afield to see the new Anchor Bar and its live rockabilly music.

Finally, visitors and community members came out to mark the opening of the new coffee shop doubling as a community gathering place.

Hundreds drove into town this weekend and the buzz has been going ever since.

Waitsburg, known for its periods of growth and silence, was once again awakened. The downtown now has businesses operating in almost every store front, with the promise of more to come.

Aside from the occasional noisy evening, this is a tremendous boost to the community. This is what a business district is set aside for: commerce.

This past weekend was a good test for the town, which can expect more traffic with its growing reputation as a destination for good eats and treats.

But with that growth come some management issues. The first is parking.

While many travelers may be drawn to downtown Waitsburg and its many attractions, if they can't pull their car up nearby, they may be tempted to leave in frustration.

None of this has been reported so far and that's good because it's much better to prevent it than let it become an obstacle to growth.

On this note, we have a few suggestions. The first one is to all the business owners on Main Street: Whenever possible, ask your employee to park off Main Street so customers get first dibs on the spaces in front of the stores.

There are plenty of parking options off the main drag, along alleys, by the swimming pool or on Coppei next to Preston Park and on the corner of West First and Main.

This becomes particularly important this fall when the weather turns and will make it less desirable for customers to walk a longer distance to patronize a Main Street business.

The second suggestion, already brought up to the mayor and some members of the council, is the need for public parking and signage that points to public parking.

The city-owned lot east of the old BMX track at the corner of West First and Main is an ideal location for overflow parking.

This weekend, some temporary cardboard signs went up to drivers to this parking opportunity, a welcome development. But we propose that the city find ways to put up permanent signs that point the way to the lot by the bridge, particularly since it would encourage visitors to park away from the more residential part of town.

The lot could be striped and organized for parking on weekends, when visitors are expected to descend on the Main Street business in growing numbers.

Taking a proactive approach, the mayor is already expressing an interest in adding signage that directs travelers into the downtown area from Highway 12, which turns one block east of all the businesses on Main Street in both directions.

Any signage near Highway 12 that would help promote the new and existing stops for travelers, would be a huge help for the business core.