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Parking Meters
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Nak

Since 19 May 2005
4199 Posts
Camas
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PostFri Feb 15, 19 10:52 am     Reply with quote

In the interest of full disclosure I should add that yes, Camas does charge to park a vehicle with a boat trailer. $50 annual pass. (Zero charge if you don't need a trailer.) Compare that to $200 for oversize at the event site, or $100 for a car.

And yes, there's two parks, grass, garbage pickup, bathrooms, etc. And if I want to have a Rum Runner while I watch the carnage at the boat launch, parking doesn't cost me a nickel.

The fees at the event site ARE NOT necessary. At the very least the fees could be a fraction of what they are. Camas proves that. The fees are the result of greedy and incompetent bureaucrats and politicians.

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bigjohn

Since 13 Mar 2012
663 Posts

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PostFri Feb 15, 19 11:13 am     Reply with quote

WindSki wrote:
I encourage everyone that the communities around Hood River need your support more than Hood River !!! I'm spending less and less every year in HR


We all have a choice to vote with our dollars. Some will pay for parking or passes, others will look for alternative options.

The port has every right to charge as much as they can in an effort to fund projects they deem important. I'm not sure about this, but I would guess that the port commissioners are un-paid positions. At most they are likely receiving less than $50 per meeting ( https://www.oregonlaws.org/ors/198.190 ). This does not include paid staff of course... who's job usually includes finding ways to generate revenue to pay for programs they oversee...

It all boils down to supply and demand. The Hood River Port has a product and is pricing that product based upon it's perceived demand.

If you have personally found your threshhold for fees I suggest you look at some of the surrounding areas. White Salmon, Stevenson, Lyle, The Dalles, Rufus, Arlington (extra kudos for Arlington due to their recent efforts to improve their port district for recreational purposes) all appear to be interested in increasing tourism. Your dollars would be greatly appreciated.

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Matt V

Since 26 Oct 2014
462 Posts
Summer- OR Coast, Winter - My van near good snow
Explosive Diarrhea



PostFri Feb 15, 19 11:53 am     Reply with quote

ldhr wrote:
I should know better than to light fire underneath all you internet trolls! Wink

For the record - I have no problem buying a season pass to park at the Event Site.


Not a single kiter who avoids the event site, would give you any serious flak for kiting at the event site. You are doing them a favor by kiting at the event site, paying all the fees, and leaving the other kite launches to them. The event site is great for those of us that don't use it. It attracts most of the........different personalities who would otherwise make those other locations less peaceful if they went there.

Most of my concern with these increasing fees is that eventually they will price the idiots out of the event site. Then they will go to other locations, where those players absolutely need some supervision, but will have not have any at those other locations.

In the past 8 years, I have seen the attitude of Gorge tourist kiters (from Utah to California to Minnesota to Kansas) go from:

"Oh!, you kite in the Gorge? - I am taking a trip out to Hood River and can't wait to kite there."

to

"Oh! , you kite in the Gorge? I really heard Hood River is a mess to kite at, so where do you kite in the Gorge"






ldhr wrote:

Regarding the downtown parking meters - if they weren't there, shop employees would take up all the spaces and leave their cars parked all day. Without meters - there would be no turnover and thus no parking available on most days.
But really - people complain about paying .50 cents to park while they quaff a $6 beer or $5 latte? Please.....


It is obvious that fee parking deters usage. With fewer parking spaces than the actual demand for free parking, the city does make money while at the same time reducing demand. .50cents is relatively insignificant, just like the percentage of your income you pay in income taxes, property taxes over your lifetime, gasoline taxes (how much do you pay per year in gasoline taxes?), and sales taxes. One, or seventy more taxes won't break your bank......will it?

I agree with you that taxes and fees are "no big deal". At least they are not if the taxing authority efficiently uses that money. However, raising prices to reduce usage, then not returning that money to the user, is what I have a problem with. It is kind of like paying "protection" money to the mob. The protection money you pay just keeps others out of your way, because they do not want to pay that "protection" money.

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Singlemalt

Since 21 Jun 2015
460 Posts
White Salmon
Obsessed



PostFri Feb 15, 19 2:28 pm     Reply with quote

I’m still pissed about the way the cable park thing went. What a shame. The nimbys really put on a show.

When it was going to be a hotel with marina, nobody had an issue. There’s never enough space for boat owners that have the dough for a slip fee. The waiting list at Hood River marina is years long.

And then the sandbar comes flowing down the mountain and the marina idea is off the table. Now, suddenly it’s everything from a salmon spawning ground to a sacred protected wetland. And it gets some use, but damn, what a missed opurtunity.

There’s plenty of room for a cable park and all the other activities. It would have awesome, but instead we got nothing.

Remember, this was just a dredged area to pull barges into Nichols Boat Works.

Yeah , parking fees are here to stay. And we do get a pretty healthy early season discount.

I just don’t see paid parking encouraging Meadows shuttle use. Seems silly.

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SalmonSlayer

Since 27 Nov 2005
648 Posts

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PostFri Feb 15, 19 4:00 pm     Reply with quote

Matt V wrote:
I agree with you that taxes and fees are "no big deal". .......... However, raising prices to reduce usage, .......It is kind of like paying "protection" ......... The protection money you pay just keeps others out of your way, because they do not want to pay that "protection" money.


This policy pushes away those with less disposable income. I am confident that is not your wish, but that is the reality. Great message HR

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Sasquatch

Since 09 Mar 2005
2053 Posts
PNW
Bigfoot



PostFri Feb 15, 19 6:41 pm     Reply with quote

bigjohn wrote:


We all have a choice to vote with our dollars. Some will pay for parking or passes, others will look for alternative options.

The port has every right to charge as much as they can in an effort to fund projects they deem important.

It all boils down to supply and demand. The Hood River Port has a product and is pricing that product based upon it's perceived demand.

If you have personally found your threshhold for fees I suggest you look at some of the surrounding areas. White Salmon, Stevenson, Lyle, The Dalles, Rufus, Arlington (extra kudos for Arlington due to their recent efforts to improve their port district for recreational purposes) all appear to be interested in increasing tourism. Your dollars would be greatly appreciated.



Word BigJohn; all valid points!

Bottom line its the Port's property and they can do what they want with it.

Is it a $ grab? Absolutely--supply and demand!

Will it cut demand some? Absolutely!

Will people still come and overflow the lot/crowd bar during the good weather/wind (spring and summer)? Absolutely!

Will some go elsewhere? Absolutely! Until the wind is best at the crowd bar, gas prices get more spendy. . . I'm all for spreading the tourists dollars to other areas in the Gorge.

In the long-run (if fees continue) it will only make other locales stronger economically.

Yes, its a barrier-to-entry fee/tax play with the event site parking...

If you don't like it voice your opinion and don't visit the crowd bar/event site, or car pool, park miles away and bike/walk with your gear down to the event site.

At least you all have options!

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Matt V

Since 26 Oct 2014
462 Posts
Summer- OR Coast, Winter - My van near good snow
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PostFri Feb 15, 19 6:46 pm     Reply with quote

SalmonSlayer wrote:

This policy pushes away those with less disposable income. I am confident that is not your wish, but that is the reality. Great message HR


'And I don't like it any more than you' do. I have stated that I no longer frequent HR for kiting or purchasing gear. So I am pretty much not, nor have I ever been, for increasing fees with no increase in return to the user. I am all for a "free for all" in all sincerity, though that would not attract me back to HR much more than the current situation.

So I challenge you to come up with a system that is not:

1. A free for all
or
2. The current system where many are being priced out of the event site usage, or just plain not willing to pay the increasing amounts.

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Nak

Since 19 May 2005
4199 Posts
Camas
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PostFri Feb 15, 19 7:43 pm     Reply with quote

Sasquatch wrote:


Bottom line its the Port's property and they can do what they want with it.


Actually, that's not true. It belongs to the citizens of Hood River. Those citizens are free to fire the Port commissioners in the next election. I hope that will happen, but my guess is it will not.

Sasquatch wrote:

Is it a $ grab? Absolutely--supply and demand!


That is not what public servants are supposed to be guided by. They are entrusted with the task of promoting the public good. Unfortunately, that is becoming less and less common--even to the point where folks are just accepting so much less than what they should be expecting. Sad

If these commissioners are re-elected, Hood River residents will in effect be proclaiming they support these policies.

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wylieflyote

Since 30 Jun 2006
1634 Posts
Puget Sound & Wa. Coast
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PostSat Feb 16, 19 7:54 am     Reply with quote

Time was... I'd drive 3 hours to Hood River to support the many outlets who provide me with great gear & support. I could run down to the e-site and test that same day.

This is just one more reason to simply click & buy from here in my easy chair.

Pepi and all other vendors should be outraged. At $3 an hour, it'd be $12-$15 just for me to try gear.

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daveS

Since 23 Jul 2007
101 Posts

Stoked



PostSun Feb 17, 19 12:21 pm     Reply with quote

There are many great points here. As a local ill just say.
#1 I believe crowding at the waterfront and limited parking will be a significant issue especially as the port develops Lot 2(across the street from The Event Site). These users are increasingly NOT there for the wind. If parking was free or cheaper then wind users would not have any parking on busy summer days.
#2 Unfortunately Hood River County has a budget deficit due in part to loss of timber funds. I believe this will have to lead to eventual taxes on food/lodging as the county attempts to extract more money from tourists as opposed to residents.
#3 It is obvious in living here that wind tourists are a smaller percentage of the overall tourists each year which might reduce our clout. It also seems like someone needs to try to monetize the value of wind sports (and mountain biking) to try to influence the county to keep the area catering to recreationalists.
#4 it seems obvious that in other tourist towns that excessive rental properties create off-season ghost towns and a loss of community so i favor those restrictions.
Nak I don't know if the comparison between Camas and Hood River is fair. Two pretty different towns in different states.
Anyway, I don't have solutions but I do think Hood River and the waterfront are going to continue to change significantly and likely become a less convenient place to play.

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