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My Turn: Considering safety in parking plan

Phoebe Landre

I work in downtown Truckee. My concerns are about safety and using the designated employee parking lots downtown.I left work one day recently at 5:20 p.m. It was completely dark outside. The lot behind the Beacon gas station (the closest designated employee parking lot to my work) was very dimly lit. There are lights but they are inadequate. Also, the only way to get to that lot is by crossing a dark crosswalk over State Route 89 where one direction of the four way intersection has no stop sign and walking behind vehicles parked at the customer parking at the gas station. I observed cars pulling in and out of the gas station right where I would have to walk to that lot (it was not lighted or marked as a pedestrian walkway). The cars at the gas station were pulling in and out quickly and of course it was dark and not marked so how would anyone even expect that pedestrians were walking there? The other employee parking area I would potentially use is up the hill on Bridge Street. There are no lights up there and in the past when I have parked up there in the day time I’ve seen broken beer bottles, used condoms and other indications that I would not want to be there in the dark by myself. Also, there is only soft gravel to park on, the sidewalk from there to Commercial Row is non-existent to very potholed, and again there is no safe way to cross from that parking area to Bridge Street. There is a five-way intersection and one direction doesn’t have a stop sign. I was nearly hit crossing that intersection a couple months ago.I could go on with concerns about safety in parking in these lots and passing back and forth to these lots in snow and bad weather, but need I?We were asked to purchase parking in these areas and I have to tell you I refuse to at this point. The parking plan for employees seems to have been very hastily put together with very little concern for safety of employees in using the lots and especially in safe passing to and from the lots to downtown. Why should I pay for parking under these circumstances ($40 per month/$210 per half year/ $360 per year)? I really think that these issues of safety need to be addressed before the parking changes for employees takes effect. At the very least employees should not be asked to pay for parking under these circumstances.Phoebe Landre is a Truckee resident.


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