The single greatest complaint by Main Street merchants (after rents, anyway) seems to be parking.  Whatever else they may disagree about, they seem to agree that what downtown Half Moon Bay really needs is more parking.

Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, around noon, I visited a merchant downtown while the Holy Ghost Festival carnival was in full swing down at the I.D.E.S. Hall. Main Street was swarming with families in a way you don’t usually see. Normally it seems to be mostly couples out for a getaway.

I had no problem finding a place to park on Purissima, around the corner from the shop I was visiting. It was a shorter walk that I typically take from the Strawflower Village parking lot to Safeway.

If you’ve ever shopped or eaten in Burlingame or Palo Alto—any time from 10am to 9pm—you know what a parking shortage looks like.  I can’t account for this obsession with parking, and I’m wondering if anyone has any insights.

My wife and I have never really had any trouble parking to shop in HMB, at worse you might have to walk one short block to get back to the High Street after parking on a side street. It’s far harder to find street parking in Palo Alto or San Francisco.

During the 2005 Merchants Survey, 50% of the responding merchants complained that there was insufficient parking. Even though there is some parking along Johnson and Purissima, it can fill up fast sometimes and at other times (like with any of the church events) it can be almost impossible to find a place, .......... but not always.

It is curious that many customers seem to have the mindset that, since they moved out here to a small coastal town, they shouldn’t have to walk more than half a block in order to do their shopping. When that condition doesn’t present itself, many admit to driving right on by.

I believe the problem is that when we have parking close by, no one seems to give it a thought, but during a busy day, when many businesses are trying to make up for the slow days, the parking reaches a saturation point far too early in the day. The spillover isn’t captured and those sales are often lost. Locals sometimes return another day when it’s convenient, but not always; at least for that shopping round.

I personally have no problem with parking in downtown.  Sometimes it takes a little longer to park but I am able to walk the extra block or two.  Actually, what deters me from shopping in the area are the hours of some stores.  When you work over the hill and a business closes at 5:00 pm and is not open on Sundays, they are just not likely to get your business.  Extending the hours (and promoting the heck out of it) may help.