To the Editor:
Thirty years ago, Providence experimented with parking meters on Thayer Street, and it was a disaster and they were removed. Recently, they were brought back and this new "experiment" has been worse.
Parking meters are a tax on local businesses. But it is a tax paid by customers just for the right to spend their money shopping, dining or being entertained.
Since the parking pay stations were installed on Thayer Street, traffic has lessened, business is dramatically down and vacancies are as high as they have ever been, as evidenced by the fact that there are so many empty storefronts. Vacant storefronts mean the city loses tangible taxes, results in lower assessments and lowers desperately needed tax revenue. The 1 percent meal tax paid by Thayer Street restaurants has been reduced considerably because those restaurants have lost traffic because of meters.
And, the company that is managing the meters is making the most profit, not the city.
To their credit, the Hope Street and Wickenden Street merchants fought off parking meters after seeing how much it has hurt Thayer Street business.
Now, it is time to remove them from Thayer Street.
The city needs to expand its tax base to other parts of the city, such as the Allens Avenue waterfront, adding new commercial development and more apartments and condos. The focus is cutting expenses, not burdening small businesses with a meter tax. The city's commercial tax is in the top five highest in the country.
I invite you to join the more than 2,700 people who have signed the petition at avoncinema.com to get them removed from Thayer's commercial district, and call or email Mayor Jorge O. Elorza's office and tell them it is time for the meters to go. •
Richard Dulgarian and Kenneth R. Dulgarian are co-owners of Avon Cinema on Thayer Street in Providence.