Bag a meter, and a parker, fa la la la la, la la la la.
As the shopping season was in full swing, The Fact of The Matter received a comment, that had been suggested be turned into a heading, or blog. Here we go.
What follows is what happened recently in our downtown shopping district. The downtown that the Mayor and Town Council profile at most council meetings.
If you have ever been to a council meeting, Mayor Skibitsky will invite the owner(s) of a new business located in town to address the public during the promotion of Westfield First which Mayor Skibitsky states is "our initiative to remind all Westfield residents to spend their hard earned $$$ in the town of Westfield whether your shopping for holiday presents or Christmas gifts, or dining out or using professional services we strongly encourage you to support our downtown and make sure you come here first before you think of going anywhere else."
A reader of The Fact of The Matter posted the following comment. The comment appeared in the comments section of the Blog titled "It Happened There, It Could Happen Here."
I'm ashamed to be a Westfield resident today. While I was shopping a man entered the store I was in and I could tell he was upset. The people at the register were surprised by his return as well and asked if everything was ok?
What I heard next really made me ashamed of Westfield, the town I live in.
What a monstrous town Westfield is!"
This person had one day to shop and actually choose Westfield because of the "free parking" and easy access to the stores. He saw the bagged meters on every street but couldn't find a spot so he parked in the lot behind the Leader Store.
When he returned to put his purchases in the car he found a ticket for $32.00. I gather he then marched into the store and asked to see the manager. He very openly displayed his distain for Westfield with a statement like "Bait people to come and shop with free parking and then ticket them". He had more unpleasant comments for Westfield in general and this incident helped fuel his outrage.
The customer then returned the merchandise purchased to cover the cost of the ticket and said he would never come to Westfield again to shop.
Is this really the image we want to present for Westfield? Come on. Free parking but if your new to town or visiting, you're screwed? I hope you can post this.
This anonymous post/comment was posted after I had returned from picking up my child on N. Elmer St. I did see that the street meters were bagged on N. Elmer St. and the municipal lot behind the Rialto was filled to capacity. It was 7:00 pm, Wednesday evening. I wondered if the parking in the various municipal parking lots was free. Then came the above comment. Parking is not free in the municipal lots during the holiday shopping season.
There is nothing different about this season with regards to free parking at meters; if the meter is bagged, parking is free. Its not safe to assume that the parking in municipal lots is free unless there is a large orange bag over the parking stations located throughout the municipal lots, don't hold your breath. These pay stations are money makers for the town.
What should be investigated is how many employees working in town, park all day at the bagged meters since there is no need to "meter feed."
Its unfortunate that a possible miscommunication by the Town of Westfield with regards to free parking downtown has cost a person $32.00 which in turn cost a merchant $32.00 due to the consumers return of merchandise to the store he/she was shopping in when the parking ticket was issued.
A person spent their hard earned money at a local store and then sought a refund to pay for a parking ticket received while spending that hard earned money. Instead of the down town merchant making money from a sale of goods, the Town of Westfield made money from the issuance of a parking ticket. I've got to go, it's the Christmas season and "The Scrooge" is on tonight. I don't want to miss it.
