City offers reserved parking spaces with permit

    Five minutes late to work, coffee getting cold in the cup holder and no parking space to squeeze into - Leavenworth employees and employers alike have voiced frustration over the lack of parking to the city of Leavenworth. No one likes to start their 9-5, circling a parking lot and playing the waiting game for an open spot. And the city of Leavenworth has taken those frustrations and used them to shape a pilot program to test the waters of mitigating the lack of parking -  the Reserved Parking Pilot Program became an option on January 28.
    The permit is good for reserving that there will be a space for the permit holder between 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. during the work week (Monday through Friday) with a sign. The permits are open to the public, but according to the City of Leavenworth press release, this program is primarily concentrating on employee and employer parking.
    Currently, there is a limited number of permits available and it's a first come, first serve circumstance. With a total of 45 permits for sale - 15 reserved space in Parking Lot P4 and 30 for Parking Lot P2 - individuals can chose between the 30 spots in the lower lot located on Front Street and Division Street or the 15 in the lot located adjacent to City Hall on 700 Hwy 2.
    "Of the 30 stalls at P2 lot we have sold 25 and of the 15 stalls at P4 we have sold 1 with another potential in the queue," said Chantell Steiner, City Clerk.
    The permits are addressed to individuals, not the vehicle - so the permits are transferrable between different vehicles. The monthly fee is $30 and the reserved six month fee is $180 for the lower lot and the City Hall lot is $45 monthly and $270 total for the six month fee.
    "One thing to note that this (current prices) show a monthly rate; however, for the pilot program we are only selling 6-month passes at this time, monthly passes may be considered for the future if the pilot program does well," said Steiner.  
    Meaning for now that the only purchase option is either the $180 or $270 option.
    This is a temporary fixture that may become permanent - depending on how the trial period unfolds and how much impact it has for employee and employer parking. Regardless if this program comes to fruition permanently or not, the city will continue testing and trying out methods.
    "We are currently working to have the first Parking Stakeholder Committee meeting that has not yet been determined for its first meeting date – shooting for some time in February though," said Steiner on the future of solving the parking issue. "The Committee will be reviewing the Parking Study and Guiding Principles, that came as a result of the Parking Study, that will look at a multitude of options to implement changes for improving parking and circulation."