LETTER: Ice skating makes parking tough in Port Angeles

Iced parking

It looks like the ice skating rink is doing a lot of business, but one block away my taekwondo school (White Crane Martial Arts) has seen a huge spike in students showing up late because they can’t find a parking spot.

Not only did the rink cover one of the two lots downtown open for customers, but the skaters gobble up the remaining street spots and there is no parking.

My students are athletes — they eventually find a spot and hike to the gym, but most of the small shops around our area rely heavily on the Christmas season to catch up on their bills and I feel this is hurting them.

Elderly or handicapped shoppers will only circle the block once before they give up and drive out to Walmart.

Assuming they have a public address system in place for the music, the rink should offer free ads over the speakers for the local shops to try and offset these losses.

It would not cost them anything to announce specials or inform the skaters of nearby places to visit, and it’s just not fair to put these small businesses under such a burden during this crucial time of the shopping season.

Robert Nicholls,

Port Angeles