As the final public parking lot closed next to the Gillette Building and future regional ballpark in Lowertown, St. Paul Farmer’s Market goers found themselves forced to adapt to the new parking situation.
“Change is hard,” Jack Gerten, Farmer’s Market manager said. “(We) just need to get people used to it.”
While there were grumblings Saturday that parking was harder to find, Sunday seemed a different story.
Numerous people the City Hall Scoop stopped to ask about the issue said they had no trouble.
Signs were posted that directed drivers away from the Gillette Building to lots located near the Union Depot Station. There, two lots offer parking for $3 and $1.
“We’re happy that we’re keeping the parking rate reasonable,” Gerten said. At meters, parking can cost $2 an hour.
Those parking in the lots on Kellogg Boulevard got a coupon for a free bottle of water or a cup of coffee, said Shari Haselmann, assistant manager of the Farmer’s Market.
The Gillette building is being demolished to make room for a 7,000-seat, city-owned ballpark and home of the minor league St. Paul Saints, and lots immediately next to the site are going the way of the dodo bird as demolition and construction unfolds. And it’s unlikely those public stalls will be coming back.
While it’s true that there may be less free parking, Gerten said he understands the mindset of people who are opposed to paying but that is another thing that people have to get used to. So what do you think, Scoop reader? Was it harder to park at the Farmers Market this weekend, or are all those parking concerns much ado about not much to much ado about?