More than two dozen downtown merchants signed a petition asking Carson City to consider putting a two-hour parking limit on a section of West Musser Street from North Carson to Nevada streets during business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"If you make it hard for people shop, they won't shop," said Michael Robbins, owner of Hanifin's Art and Antiques, 210 N. Carson St. "Having successful businesses downtown is good for the city."
Allowing customers to park as close as possible to downtown businesses would prove invaluable, he said.
Three spaces on the north side of the street from North Carson to Curry streets are under a sign that declares the spots are only for people conducting business at the Secretary of State's Office, 204 N. Carson St. To the west, from Curry to Nevada streets, however, both sides of the street are lined with vehicles, presumably driven by state employees seeking to park as close to their office as possible.
The petition was taken to a variety of businesses within three blocks of the section of Musser Street being proposed for parking time-limits, Robbins said.
The state pays for the three spots near the corner of Carson and Musser Street, next to the Secretary of State's office. It is one of the city's last client-parking arrangements, for which the state pays $300 per space annually, according to Frank Rahm, the city's parking enforcement officer.
If someone in this arrangement gives up the parking spaces, "they can't get them back," Rahm said.
This leaves two other spaces on Musser between North Carson and Curry streets, and up to a dozen other spaces between Curry and Nevada streets that business owners are asking to be marked as two-hour maximum use, Rahm said.
"I don't think the state should really qualify for on-street parking when so many businesses can use it and profit from the availability for patrons," said Richard Davis, partner in the Great Basin Art Gallery, 110 S. Curry St.
Imposing the time limits would provide better parking flow, and allow more people to come and go, Davis said.
While there are plenty of parking spaces in lots around the downtown area, many people don't like to use lots. There are less than 500 spaces within the downtown area on which Rahm focuses, from Fourth and Washington streets to Curry and Plaza streets, he said.
Much of the on-street parking already is time-limited. More than 400 spaces allow drivers to park for no more than two hours, he said.
The busy Rahm also patrols citywide, seeking out violators who unlawfully park in disabled spaces, for example.
"We're supportive of the local business community," said John Trent, spokesman for the Secretary of State's Office. If the supervisors impose the time limit, it would be inconvenient, but the employees will cooperate, he said.
"There are other places for our people to park," Trent said.
Parking needs downtown are different during weekends and evenings, when residents make their way to restaurants and bars. The weekday business hours are the busiest, especially from 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., when workers come out to eat lunch, said Supervisor Robin Williamson, chairwoman of the City's Redevelopment Authority. The area is within the downtown redevelopment area.
"Parking always comes up," Williamson said. "We have to try to meet the needs of everybody."
That includes merchants and their employees not taking the best parking spots, too, she said.
The Carson City Board of Supervisors is expected to hear about a plan to limiting parking time on the stretch of Musser Street on May 18.
• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.