BOISE, Idaho — Nearly two years of ongoing downtown Boise construction stirred up concerns for business owners focused on balancing their bottom line on the heels of COVID.
The latest concern is an imbalance between the parking spots available to customers while contractors fill the spots throughout their work day.
"Kind of got to the point where they couldn't make their appointments because they couldn't find parking," Foot Dynamics owner Kevin Chapman said. "The other day, I had a picture I emailed to the Mayor's Office of two vehicles parked in front of our business for from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m."
The City of Boise responded to Kevin's email, though it wasn't to his satisfaction.
"We can ticket and enforce, we are not able to restrict who uses the public meters if they are paying users," the city wrote. "On another note, if at any point you all want to explore paid parking options for your customers, I could work with you to connect you with relevant parties who manage nearby parking lots and/or garages."
Baby Blues and Pink owner Shawna Loveland is facing the same problem; her business is behind 40% in sales.
"Just the other day the one handicap parking we have here, someone parked there all day in their work truck. It had two tickets on it. But it doesn't help the issue," Loveland said. "All I can do is sit here and worry if I'm gonna make it another month."
Chapman's business has already opened a branch in Meridian as a response. He sees multiple customers a day express their unwillingness to shop in downtown Boise through the construction.
"We have two years left on this [Boise] lease," Chapman said. "I do not blame the employees for parking in these spots, because they have to park somewhere. But no one is giving them anywhere to park, and to me that's the city."
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