NIAGARA FALLS, NY – Every day in the summer months, motor coaches drop hundreds of tourists off near the entrance to Niagara Falls State Park. From there, the bus drivers have to take their vehicles and park them somewhere, while their passengers enjoy a day of sightseeing.
The City of Niagara Falls, which obtains no revenue from the dollars spent inside the park by millions of visitors annually (those dollars are collected by New York State and its approved vendors), has nonetheless sought to cash in on the action.
“We are a dying city which is driven by tourism,” City Councilman Bill Kennedy said. “So if we are going to be driven by tourism, then we should be capitalizing on that.”
In recent years, the city has established designated parking spots for motor coaches along select city streets near the downtown tourist area.
Buses can park there for $50 per day.
Why Pay When You Can Park for Free?
One of the most convenient spots is a stretch of 2nd Street, between Niagara Street and Main Street.
It’s only a few blocks from the park entrance, is wide enough for motor coach parking on both sides, and devoid of any homes or businesses.
However, on a recent day when the visitor trade seemed to be bustling, it was also devoid of buses.
Instead, several motor coach drivers had parked their vehicles a short distance further along Rainbow Boulevard, where they can park for free.
Niagara Street, between 4th Street and John Daly Boulevard, had also been a favorite free spot for drivers to wait to pick up their charges, until recently when the city installed a pay station for the buses.
Parking Spot Roulette
Several streets have signs warning that no bus parking is allowed. But according to Kennedy, it seems that every time the city puts up a sign on one street telling buses they can’t park there, they find another where they can, keeping one step ahead of the city in what Kennedy refers to as “a game of parking spot roulette”.
Kennedy says for a while now, the bus drivers have had upper hand in the gambit, largely in part because instead of forking over $50 to park legally, they could park illegally and get a ticket for only $25.
“It made no sense,” Kennedy said. So now the city is upping the ante or, in this case, the fine.
Raising the Stakes
“We’re raising the fine,” Kennedy said. “So it’s going to be at least double of what the parking spot (payment) is. In other words, if the fee is $50, then the fine for not paying is going to go to $100, or $200 or more.”
The remaining question, however, is – short of passing a law that prohibits parking a bus on any city street - won’t the bus drivers just venture further away from downtown to park until returning to pick up their passengers at the park?
“We’re trying to work on a few things to address that scenario which I cannot speak about just yet,” said Kennedy, preferring to keep the city’s hand close to the vest.
At the same time though, he revealed some of what may be in the cards.
“You will definitely see stepped up enforcement and some people might get surprised by it,” Kennedy said. “It’s just a matter of consistent behaviors. You see the same guys (bus drivers) doing this. They’re going to get warned and then it’s gonna be on.”