STOCKTON-
Parking can be somewhat of a gamble in Downtown Stockton and once you find it, there’s no guarantee that you’ll have enough time to get business done.
But for the Downtown Stockton Alliance, they’re hoping a quarter keeps visitors around for more than 15 minutes.
Round and round the block – it’s the downtown parking dance drivers want to break away from.
“You keep going in circles and eventually you find it,” David Miraflor, a Stockton driver told FOX40 on Friday.
But for some drivers, Downtown Ambassadors may help them out of their parking pickle with a small gesture.
“It’s a complimentary quarter, gives them an extra 15 minutes,” Manuel Laguna, a Historical Ambassador with the Downtown Stockton Alliance explained. “Can’t get everyone. We can’t be everywhere. But we are at least, we’re helping some people.”
The Downtown Stockton Alliance launched the “Gift of Time,” an effort to buy visitors an extra quarter of an hour for parking in the city when they may be facing tight situations.
“It’s kind of difficult. It really is. So… I go to the building department all the time,” Miraflor said.
“(Visitors) come here to bring their business. We want to give something in return even if it something really, really small scale,” Sylwia Qualls, the Communications and Graphics Director with the Downtown Stockton Alliance said.
Qualls said their CEO came up with the idea, hoping the gesture of good will would prompt those conducting business in the city to visit again. “Giving them extra 15 minutes on their parking meter but the gesture itself is very positive,” she said.
But the quarter isn’t geared toward every parking meter. DSA said their ambassadors patrol the streets daily and have become familiar with chronic parking abusers.
“This program definitely is not designed for people who play so-called parking roulette,” Qualls explained.
For those who will potentially develop a relationship with Stockton, they said, it’s a welcome gesture.
“I might have to go back to my car right now and feed my meter,” Miraflor joked.
The Downtown Stockton Alliance said they can’t get to everyone and for those who have the flashing red on the parking meter and come face-to-face with a ticket – it will set them back $43.
