I (GASP) Used A Parking Meter In Downtown St. Cloud!

The other night my wife and I went to Downtown St. Cloud to celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary. We ended up going to 7 West Taphouse, which is in the same spot as the old Electric Fetus music store.

Upon arriving downtown we realize we would have to pay to park at a meter. I expected this to be a large financial commitment that would be exacerbated by some difficult process meant only to make my life harder.

RELATED: St Cloud Mayor Discusses Parking Meters.

WHY DO PEOPLE FEEL SO STRONGLY ABOUT ST. CLOUD'S PARKING METERS?

Maybe my perspective on this is a little skewed having grown up in the Twin Cities, always paying for meters wherever I went... I really don't see the problem with charging $1 per hour at a meter? But whenever there is a news story posted by WJON to Facebook on this topic, the commenters LOSE THEIR MINDS.

"Avoiding downtown altogether now. I used to have lunch and shop once in awhile, now,I don’t ever go down there. So sad that greed has taken away from the businesses."

"Why would I pay to go to a business downtown when I could go elsewhere for free? There is nothing unique about any of the businesses downtown that sets them apart where I could not find basically the exact same food, goods, or services someplace where it doesn't cost money just to walk in the door."

"Raising the meter fee from $1 per hour to $1.50???? We are not a big city. Some people really do not want the downtown area to prosper."

HOW TO USE THE PARKING METERS IN ST CLOUD 

Using the parking meter was not complicated or expensive. I didn't download any apps or do anything special. I simply noted the space number I had parked in, walked to the kiosk three feet away then swiped my card. I paid $1.25 with my debit card for one hour and 15 minutes of parking.

Meters allow more people to park closer to the business they are visiting. We had a spot directly across the street from our restaurant and, when we left after an hour, someone else got to use that spot. Had there been no meter, an employee or downtown resident may have taken that spot indefinitely.