My wife and I have visited Portland for years. I have watched and witnessed the changes and development of Portland for a long while.
In the ’80s, drivers shared Commercial Street with train cars. The history is still there. What’s been lost recently is affordability. We stopped in at our absolute favorite chowder house on a Friday. Always a great feed, and the action on the waterfront is fun to watch. But the crowd was lighter than expected. A big reason for that is the absolutely ridiculous parking fees being charged by a third-party parking vendor. News flash: “Flex” pricing only works on a spreadsheet. The minimum charge is two hours at $28.
It’s killing Portland businesses! It’s taking from waitress tips. And it will drive tourists away.
What a sad end to years of great adventures. We won’t be back.
Chris Collings
Marion, Mass.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your Press Herald account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.