Lakewalk Parking

cinder_ella1962 Jun 01, 2014 19 Comments

I went down to the Lakewalk in Canal Park a few days ago after not being down there for a few years and was very disappointed. First realizing that there is a minimum $2 charge for parking. What person knows how long they will be gone? Going for a walk, run, etc or stopping to have a bite to eat, let the kids play. I paid my $2 and made it back to my car in time, but within 30 seconds of starting my car, I was informed by the meter maid, that my time was up. I even looked into other places where parking used to be free. Nope it’s all gone. I will never go down there again and am certainly passing the word around to look somewhere else for Duluth’s beauty.

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19 Comments

TimK

about 8 years ago 

The public lots in Canal Park have free parking from Labor Day to Memorial Day. During the Summer tourist season, parking space availability is at a premium. Driving a car means you have to park it somewhere. So, what makes you so special that you should get a free place to park in the busiest part of town during the busiest time of year? Ride the bus and take the free trolley down to the Canal. Ride a bike. Roller blade your way down (but for god's sake, don't skateboard). You could also drive your car to a different location along the Lake Walk and find a free parking spot and walk to the canal. 1000s of people do it. Owning a damn car doesn't come with free parking wherever and whenever you want.

Endion

about 8 years ago 

You didn't even mention the "tourist" tax on hotels and restaurants in Duluth that our mayor is wanting to raise! Hey, you pay good money to bring tourists here and have that part of the town so beautiful for them.

Now we are going to build more parks in West Duluth so some developers can put condos on the Saint Louis River. Then you read in the paper about our roads not being funded and our infrastructure crumbling. More taxes for us locals to support the tourists coming here!

I don't go to C-anal Park in the summer and if Donny Ness gets his way I am only eating in Superior or Hermantown as he plans to tax us locals to death. BTW Donny, have we hit 100K people yet? Last I heard we are losing more people than gaining. When will you just run for congress and let someone who cares about local homeowners up here take over? More money should go to our homes than Homegrown.

Parking is free by the mall, which is why most old downtowns are dying. The freeway design already makes most people skip Duluth, just drive downtown and count the vacancies.

Sorry, I thought if we were bitching I would just let it roll on this rainy day!

Sam

about 8 years ago 

The reinstatement of the 0.5% tourism tax is a great idea. It is a small 5 cent tax on a $10 restaurant meal or a 50 cent tax on a $100 hotel stay.

If you can afford the luxury of a $10 restaurant meal, you can afford to contribute 5 cents to revitalizing our parks and tourism infrastructure.

If you can afford the luxury of a $100 hotel, you can afford 50 cents to revitalize our parks and tourism infrastructure.

It a small price to pay for a substantial benefit to the people who live in and visit Duluth.

[email protected]

about 8 years ago 

I will admit disappointment that the Endion lot, which used to be free after 5:30 (like many downtown meters) is now, I think, unlabeled 24 hour enforcement, if my friend's recent ticket is any indication.

cinder_ella1962

about 8 years ago 

TimK--I don't mind walking. In fact I used to park in the further lots and walk with my two kids when they were little. I also am no stranger to taking the bus, but I guess one point I was trying to get at is that one never knows just how long they will be on the Lakewalk. My family could spend hours down there, walking till we found a place to stop and picnic or just sit and throw rocks. Granted maybe some locals know they can take the bus and trolley or park somewhere else, but what about the tourists who don't know the town very well or might be here on a budget? I wouldn't even mind so much paying when I leave. But paying up front leaves more room for a ticket if you are 30 seconds late. Heck, even parking to go to the hospital is only $2 for the day! I appreciate your comment though.

nikkinbird

about 8 years ago 

You live in a city. You have to pay for parking in busy parts of cities. I once passed through Chicago with my husband on a longer trip and we had the brilliant idea of trying to stop for pizza downtown on a Saturday night. The CHEAP parking was $25. $2 is really not that much. If you want free parking, you can move to a suburb where there is plentiful parking, and plentiful free heat reflecting off of all the black pavement.

Endion

about 8 years ago 

@Sam: it is always just 5 cents more, but did you know that we already are paying a ton of taxes locally and that there already is a hotel/restaurant tax in place? We are raising it more. Locals eat out more than tourists, so call it a local tax, not a tourist tax - or just tax hotels and make a bigger sales tax on Canal Park businesses. What about the recent article of the local homeowners paying the bill for the city's crumbling infrastructure? 

Your parking problems will be worse once the top of Timberlodge becomes a business. What a mess that will be in the summer down there. Great planning!

Shane

about 8 years ago 

Simple solution, do not park in the places it costs money to park in. There are enough free places to park nearby. Park on a street and walk a couple of blocks. Any savvy local can figure out where the free parking is.

Karasu

about 8 years ago 

Guys! Guys. Calm. Shhhhh. The Endion lot is only 25 cents per hour (but use a quarter because if you use their stupid app, it's 60 cents). The lot west of the Steam Plant is 25 cents for 45 minutes.

wskyline

about 8 years ago 

Don't the machines give you the option to input your cell phone number and then it will text you and remind you when your time is almost up, and give you the option to extend your time via text (if you used your credit card)? I think that is a pretty reasonable solution to your annoyance at paying ahead.

BadCat!

about 8 years ago 

Paying for parking in a busy area is legit, but the $2 minimum is a bit excessive. What if I want to run into a local business to quick pick something up? Guess I'll go somewhere else.

mannyL

about 8 years ago 

Leave it to Endion to turn a post about parking in Canal Park to something all about tourist taxes.  Start another thread if you want to take this subject off-topic, but please don't waste our time here with the same old arguments you hashed out a few months back.  As exciting as talking about parking is, that's what people came to this post for.

That being said, cheaper to free parking is 10-15 minutes walk from Canal Park.  It's not that hard to find.  Also, this is a city and people are adults.  If you can't manage to remember to go back to the meter and add more time then nobody can help you.

lojasmo

about 8 years ago 

You'll never go there again because you don't like the parking fee situation?  There' something to be said for moderation in reaction.

I usually bike there.

Dorkus

about 8 years ago 

I think you hit the nail on the head with your last statement. 

If you don't like it, don't park there.  Try starting on the other side of the Lakewalk, such as the Rose Garden where parking is not at a premium. 

But don't tell other people not to go there, that is just petty and vindictive.

Endion

about 8 years ago 

I don't drive a car, I bike everywhere. I don't believe in cars as they hurt mother earth. I don't heat my house as using fossil fuels would be harmful to the environment, instead I use my compost to grow organic material that heats my home. I now produce zero waste, even the gas I pass I collect in my hand and transfer it to the organic heater in my home. When I pee I drink it for the nutrients. I don't eat any gluten, fat, sugar, GMO products, things that have food coloring or preservatives, or anything that is not organically grown locally. I just eat grass, but not grass that requires water from the city, I randomly pick grass from public parks and eat it. The vomiting sucked at first, but now my body doesn't reject it anymore. I don't use any light, because even burning a candle might produce light pollution. I go to bed when the sun goes down and wake up when the sun comes up. My house was built with 100% recycleable materials that I gathered from the dumpsters of fast food restaurants. My next goal is to replace all parking lots with solar panels and then hopefully grow more grass for me to eat. If you are not as green as me you should feel sad about yourself. If you would like to join me in my quest for zero emissions please let me know. Right now I am having a friend type this on their computer as I don't use electricity as that would be a waste of fossil fuels. 

I refuse to pay for parking because the city uses machines that waste electricity.

GTR

about 8 years ago 

The parking is free from October 15-May 15. I work down there and it is always hard to give up my free parking in May. But I understand that the City needs to make money somehow, and tourists from bigger cities are not likely phased by it. Before I worked down there, I just gave up on Canal Park during the summer, but enjoyed it in the fall/winter/spring. There is free parking in the back of the Dewitt Seitz building, but it is usually full.

Aldin

about 8 years ago 

I think Duluth is doubling down on it's parking enforcement.  More patrols and cut 'em no slack attitude.  It's counter productive, you don't want tourists going home and when asked "How was your vacation?" "I got a fuckin' ticket in Duluth."

Makoons

about 8 years ago 

Getting back to what OP is talking about, I also feel like the lots owned by that company (they appear to own the one behind Starbucks and near the library as well) should have a more reasonable set up for people who park there. I have no problem paying, but I'd like there to be a 15 minute option behind Starbucks as I never go there for an hour, I always go to grab a cup and run back to work. When I go to Canal or the library I wish they'd just automatically pull more money off my card when my two hours are up so I don't have to worry about staying strategically close to the car to avoid tickets.

Paying for parking in Duluth isn't a problem. I visited St Paul a few weeks ago and paid 16 dollars for two hours of parking so 2 dollars is a joke. I just wish they'd make it easier on the payee.

TimK

about 8 years ago 

I use the Pay-by-Phone app that sends me a text when I'm getting low on time and allows you to add more with a few clicks.

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