Emotions ran high at the Blue Ridge City Council meeting last Tuesday night, when council member Angie Arp motioned to hold a town hall meeting to discuss the installation of parking meters in downtown Blue Ridge. The motion immediately overshadowed the other items on the agenda when several citizens expressed their outrage over the proposal.
“I would just like to say that it’s not a good idea…It just changes the whole personality of the town,” said a concerned citizen.

“I think it’s a huge mistake,” added Bo Chance.

“I do too,” echoed another citizen.

“I know the Mayor of Augusta, and he has declared his downtown a disaster,” Chance continued. “And that’s one of the reasons why. There are graveyards of parking meters that have been pulled out.”

Toward the end of the meeting Mayor Donna Whitener touched on the topic.

“My only concern is that we’re just now getting our locals to go back downtown. I want our tourists to enjoy downtown, but I also want our locals to enjoy it too.”

The council approved the motion and a town hall meeting will be held on June 3rd. The meeting will be used to discuss parking with the community and should be interesting at the very least. If approved, the proposal would include the installation of approximately 300 parking meters, each carrying a charge of $1 per hour.

The council meeting also discussed a number of other items including a presentation by Bo Chance on Downtown Development Authorities. The meeting in it’s entirety is posted below.

Blue Ridge City Council Meeting 5-13-2014 from Fetch on Vimeo.