Mayor Steve Noble can’t quite bring himself to say there will be no parking tickets in Kingston for the rest of 2019, but he comes pretty close. In his most recent issue of “This Week in Kingston,” he announced “relaxed ticketing enforcement on expired meters.” He had already alluded to the policy in a Radio Kingston appearance.
Until the end of the year, Kingston parking staff will be focusing their efforts on meter repair and routine maintenance, he wrote, and will still be issuing safety violations for issues such as blocking fire hydrants, parking in handicap spots, double parking, and expired inspections.
Those not in the know will help the city’s finances by keeping on feeding the parking meters. Regular enforcement of parking meter expiration will resume on Thursday, January 2, 2020.
People are so weird. Put your 25 cents in the meter. If you are that cheap then you’ve got problems where your brain is supposed to be.
Nah. The city is super strict about ticketing + you have to pay for public parking. If you live uptown & don’t have a driveway it’s extremely difficult to constantly have quarters on hand to pay for parking every day. They tend to run out of the paid yearly parking passes (assuming the people that need them can afford them / or are even aware they are available) for the lots which fill up anyways. Then you’re left to park a ways away & walk. These parking policies adversely effect the elderly, disabled, & poor. The free side street parking is also strictly ticketed + tends to mostly be on the poorer streets (good luck struggling to afford a car/rent + then tons of parking tickets). Keep in mind, you have to move your car in the am to use side street & if they randomly decide it’s a snow emergency & you aren’t around, your car will receive a high ticket or be towed. Kingston needs to have better parking options for tourists, locals, as well as the underprivileged. It’s a real serious issue in the city that needs to be addressed. Not only would better parking policies improve local tourism, but it could certainly improve the quality of life for locals.
Hmmm, then why did I get a ticket yesterday?
Parking availability and pain in the butt payment processing is the #1 reason I avoid Kingston, despite the fact that I’d love to shop and dine in town, but never know how long I will be, and if I have to run back to feed the kiosk (which weirdly cannot figure out change – so just eats it), I’d rather not be bothered…
If your gonna provide free parking for the holiday shopping and dining period (which would encourage me to spend much more time in town), just go ahead and put a holiday bag over the meter. If you won’t tell me whether or not I will be ticketed, again – why bother…
Also – be very clear on your parking and meters what the actual hours requiring payment are. I always see out of towners trying to figure it out, and complaining about having to pay for parking on Sundays…