BILLINGS - Back-in-angle parking started downtown Billings in 2021 and the city looked at the possibility of adding more.
That type of parking is on North 29th Street and North 30th Street between 1st Avenue North and 6th Avenue North and on 8th Avenue North and North 31st Street at McKinley Elementary School.
The Billings City Council heard a proposal to add more back-in-angle parking.
Four alternates were presented and the council chose the plan that does not add more back-in-angle parking.
The council voted 5-4 to have the city staff look at Alternate 2: All Pull-in Angle Parking.
In 2021, North 29th Street and North 30th Street became two-way roads with back-in-angle parking.
“Most of my customers, probably pushing 100 percent, think it's the dumbest thing that was ever invented in their life,” said Mike Cruzan, Photographic Solutions Owner. “They can't believe that it was ever done.”
Cruzan says he has lost business at his store on North 29th Street because some of his customers will not use the spaces.
He has also observed or seen the results of other drivers having trouble with the back-in -angle parking.
“I know of three of the parking meters that were bent totally over and had to be cut off replaced totally,” Cruzan said. “They weren't just bent. And if you walk down the street and look down there, every one of them is bent.”
One man says he likes the parking and would be in favor of the parking spaces for some of the streets.
“Depends on how many lanes they take away for driving because sometimes there's a lot of traffic,” said Mike Anders, Billings resident.
According to the city of Billings, this type of parking is safer when leaving the space because drivers are moving forward and can better see pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vehicles.
“All those things kind of go together to keep our streets busy,” said Debi Meling, city of Billings public works director. “And that means you've got to watch that safety. You know, people backing in and out of places is obviously a place where there's a lot of opportunity for conflict.”
The city council had looked at the possibility of back-in-angle parking on eight other streets including North Broadway and Second Avenue North, to give drivers more consistency.
“As a driver, you want to know what to expect when you're on a street,” Meling said. “And so that driver expectations, that consistency is a big part as well.”
And some have their concerns.
“Especially when there's bigger trucks and they park next to you,” said Shirely M., Billings resident. “So you can't see if there's a car coming.”
“The two-way conversion has been very positive,” Meling said. “The combination of adding the back-in parking has had mixed results.”
