More inconsistency for La Crosse parking rules

Here we go again. The on-again, off-again parking gates in La Crosse’s municipal parking ramps are about to be turned on again. The ever changing rules for paying to park are about to change yet again. The parking gates, which have been turned off since February in an effort to thwart vandalism, could be turned on again by next month. Other changes could be coming too. Parking Utility Coordinator Jim Flottmeyer wants the city to increase the cost of parking in the ramp, from 75 cents to $1 an hour. That makes sense. But the city should also do away with the inconsistent hours of charging for parking. When the pay to park plan was initially implemented, drivers didn’t have to pay to park in the evening, but did have to pay to park overnight. For the sake of simplicity, and consistency, the city should charge the same amount, all the time. But it may be premature to re-install the parking gates. The city is considering an entirely different system for paying to park in the ramps. So the rules are likely to change yet again. The city would be wise to settle on one permanent plan, then wait until that plan is adopted before resuming charging to park. So far the only consistency in the city’s rules for pay parking has been its inconsistency.