I have a better idea

The city of Worcester, MA, has decided to provide areas where on street valets can operate. They are going to designate four passenger loading zones during the peak hours when Valets operate. Fair enough. Prior to this the valets had to operate in the traffic lanes, not cool

In some cities, valets provide their own spaces. In other words, they must "rent" parking spaces from the city, by simply putting money in the meters, in areas where they need to provide their services. The city doesn't lose any revenue, the valets are happy to pay the fees, and all is right with the world.

In these cities, the valet companies also find their own spots to park the cars that are left in their care. They make deals with local banks, businesses and the like to park in their unused spaces. They pay for that space. The parking spaces get used day and night.

JVH

Comments

[rta]

I would think that allowing valets to use the on-street meters as needed for valet parking spaces would eventually lead to a chaotic situation. The revenue might be the same for the city, but the impact on the non-valet using visitors and customers would most likely be negative. What happens when valets operating on one block start using meters in a block where another valet is operating, or where no valet operates but is home to open businesses?

Seems like the best approach is that to get a valet permit wherein your operation will be using public right-of-way as staging (metered spaces, loading zones, etc) then you should be required to submit a parking "plan" indicating where you will be parking the cars. This would also be important in traffic planning for the area.

Allowing them to monopolize additional on street spaces defeats the entire purpose of the meters (customer turnover) and is likely to alienate other businesses in the area.