Local Goods Report, September 2019

Parking Kiosk General Store

I was driving down 12th Street with my parents, who were visiting from Arizona, when I first saw the new parking kiosks peppered throughout downtown. “Look! It’s happening! Look!” They looked at me sadly, as if to say “You need to get out of town more.” But then I explained to them that for the past two years, I’ve been a part of many discussions about how to take care of a lack of customer parking. And in every meeting, we all agreed on one thing: Paso is unique and we don’t want to lose that.

Maybe I’m more into parking than the next guy. My grandfather started one of the first parking companies in San Francisco in the late 60s. I grew up visiting lots where you dropped quarters and stuffed dollar bills into metal slots with your parking space number on them. Thankfully, there are much more convenient options now that don’t require a roll of quarters in your purse. We at General Store have listened to our guests struggle with parking, and that’s why we agreed to work with others downtown to find a solution. At the end of the day, it will mean more movement in spots downtown, making it so much easier to pop down for lunch or run in to grab a quick birthday card.

Here’s our cheat sheet for parking downtown once the kiosks are live (and it really helps if you are humming “No Parking on the Dancefloor”
as you read).

  • 1. Parking downtown, even for a minute? Always hit the kiosk. 
  • Not literally but you need to check in with your license plate number, even if you’re only staying a little while. 
  • 2. Your parking is totally FREE for the first two hours.
  • And if you’re here on the weekend or after six or seeing a movie, it’s totally free the whole time.
  • 3. Download the WaytoPark app to make life easy. 

You can add an hour or two without having to leave your table at our neighbor on the corner, Streetside Ale House (sometimes those games go long, you know?).

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Keeping our downtown thriving is one of the ways we can keep Paso’s down to earth, welcoming nature alive. Thanks for your support!