On Thursday, July 26, 2007, this reporter/delivery boy was delivering Gazettes throughout Broad Ripple. My parking options were very limited because most of the parking meters on Broad Ripple Avenue were bagged. Meters can be bagged to reserve that street space for a special event. The bagging makes it illegal to park at that meter. I have seen meters bagged in Broad Ripple before and didn't think much of it. As I delivered papers to the businesses on the south side of Broad Ripple Avenue, I found some of the store owners out on the sidewalk.

"I came in at 10 a.m. and all of the meters were bagged. They had been bagged since 6 a.m.," exclaimed William Levin of Bling! of Broad Ripple, which is located at 815 Broad Ripple Avenue. "I can judge what our business is going to be directly by meters. If I look out there and see no [cars at] meters between 11 and one, I know it will be a bad day."

Most of the parking meters on both sides of Broad Ripple Avenue between Carrollton and Guilford had red bags padlocked to them, including the meter closest to Carrollton Avenue on the south side of the street that is at a handicapped parking spot. The bags say "No parking today - Tow away zone - Indpls Police Dept". Some of the meters on Guilford south of Broad Ripple Avenue were also bagged. Levin told me that a bar-sponsored nighttime event paid for the bagging.

"I just took a picture of [one of the bar's] painting truck parked in front of their bar in front of a bagged meter," said Levin. "You guys can park in front of your meters because you rented them? It's okay for them to park there but not our customers?

"It seems pretty ridiculous to me to take handicapped parking in Broad Ripple and say you can't park here, we're having a party tonight. You're taking away our parking, you're taking away our business. If you're going to take away my business, tell me. I'll close."

Levin posted several large signs protesting the meter bagging and asking for help from the city. He also handed out flyers asking for a boycott of the event sponsor.

The shop owner next to Bling! was also out on the sidewalk.

"They [bag meters on the north side] for the limousines and the taxis every Friday and Saturday night for them to park and pick up people," said John Anagnostou of United Repair Service Alterations, located at 817 Broad Ripple Avenue. "But they have never done this." I asked Anagnostou if he noticed a drop in business. "I laid my people off. I have no one working today. No business, nothing. Even today, it's Friday and nobody shows up. I asked the policeman who did this and he told me to call the association (BRVA). The guy was ticketing the people. I said, how can you ticket the guy, there is no meter there, you are the meter man? He said the sign says no parking. I said you have nothing to do with that no parking, that's a police matter. He said, we ticket."

The shop owners contacted the BRVA since they were told the BRVA was responsible for the bagging. "Not only were we not responsible for it," said Sharon Butsch Freeland, executive director for the BRVA, "we were not informed that it was going to be happening either.

"I drove over to Broad Ripple Avenue to see the situation with my own eyes," explained Butsch Freeland. "I called the telephone number that's printed on the parking meters, where I was told that Crown Royal filed for a permit for an event called 'Safe Rides Home' that was happening [July 26]. I told the permit department that the daytime businesses were suffering from lack of parking for their customers, and that the people who might avail themselves of this ride service won't even come to Broad Ripple until nighttime. The permit folks said they have to start the parking restrictions several hours before an event to be sure all cars are removed from the area by the time the event starts."

DeAnn Milliken, Special Events Manager for the City of Indianapolis, described the permit process. The permit rules and application is on-line at www.indygov.org/controller/special_events. The event organizer fills out a permit request. If approved, there is a $15 per meter per day charge. DeAnn explained that the normal permit process includes notification of the neighborhood association and of retail store owners when a street is going to be blocked off for an event. Apparently the BRVA contact information was incorrect. It is not clear why the event organizers did not contact the affected retail stores.

DeAnn was unaware of any troubles the bagged meters were causing until she received a complaint call from William Levin on the second day of the meter blockage. Within an hour, officers were sent to Broad Ripple to unbag the meters temporarily to allow daytime customers to park on Broad Ripple Avenue. The meters were rebagged later in the day for the event.

The Indianapolis Special Events office will be meeting with the BRVA to discuss the permit process and to update the notification information for future event permits.