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Letter to the Editor: Downtown losing customers

072320-parking-ticket (1)

Downtown merchants lost another customer this morning. A young Stratford couple decided to come uptown to go shopping but lost track of time and I witnessed their vehicle being ticketed. I approached them to let them know that I was disappointed they got a parking ticket.
Needless to say, they informed me that in the future they would be shopping at the malls, where they can take as much time as they like shopping without risk of getting a parking ticket.
As a senior retiree, I too basically ignore shopping uptown and frequenting restaurants for the same reason. Tourists in particular should be provided a free parking pass along with seniors like myself to encourage us to shop and eat uptown. The other annoying aspect of being uptown is the continuing frequency of tractor-trailers using Ontario Street rather than using the bypass provided. I watched a large tractor-tanker combination driving west on Douro Street turn north off Douro Street onto Romeo Street and head to Ontario Street and then west at the lights adjacent to the Best Western Plus The Arden Park Hotel. Doesn’t anyone care?

Respectfully,


Al Tucker

Stratford