Town sets forum Feb. 20 to discuss First St. parking

While it’s been a hot topic in La Conner for decades, the last word on parking likely won’t be spoken here anytime soon.

And the always lively local conversation continues 6 p.m. Feb. 20 at the Civic Garden Club on South Second Street.

The second in a series of in-person “community mingles” will address all angles of downtown parking, from traffic safety and pedestrian access to signage and revenue opportunities.

“We’re wanting to solicit input on what if any changes and improvements the public wants to see regarding parking,” Assistant Planner Ajah Eills told the Weekly News. “We need a lot of different viewpoints to understand all aspects of the topic.”

The planning staff have crafted a format that encourages what she terms “conversations between neighbors.”

“Everything will be on the table,” Davolio assured planning commissioners last month. “We take these discussions very seriously.”

Eills said the format will be similar to the October forum on short-term rentals policy with residents grouped at tables.

“This worked before,” noted Eills. “The idea is, with the small tables, that it can be more conversational.”

Downtown parking is just one component part of a potential long-range re-design of First Street. One option is to open First Street to traffic south to Caledonia Street. That would require using the public right-of-way which the former Moore-Clark warehouse extends onto.

Some have called for converting South First Street to one-way traffic and limiting parking to just one side.

Eills said there are concerns over emergency vehicles having to shoehorn their way between vehicles parked on both sides of the street.

“The fire department responds to two calls per month on South First Street,” she said. “That’s 24 calls per year.”

Using golf carts to shuttle people between downtown and parking lots below Town Hall and at the Port of Skagit’s La Conner Marina has been raised. Updating parking-related signage is also an issue.

Eills noted that there are now more than three dozen parking signs posted in town.

Paid parking on First Street has also garnered attention with town council hearing from representative of a mobile parking payment app company.

Longtime resident Linda Talman, once a planning commissioner, is not convinced parking is the town’s most pressing issue. She has pressed for greater pedestrian and non-motorized transportation opportunities instead.

Eills anticipates proposals shared at the forum will reflect the town’s character.

“This is such a welcoming community,” she said. “We want to project that with our infrastructure.”