Downtown parking is inconvenient

As a family who commutes to and from Cedar Rapids on a daily basis, we came across an issue with parking when we carpool.

For the last year and a half, we have been parking a vehicle (on a city street) in a residential area occasionally overnight to save on gas. This is a neighborhood that one of my family members used to live on and feel it was a safe place. While waiting for my family member to arrive, I was approached by a person living on that block stating I was not allowed to park on their block because I do not live there. I was told to no longer park there or they were going to report me to the police for parking a car overnight.

I contacted the police department to see if I was doing anything illegal and I was informed we could park on any residential street as long as our vehicle is moved within 48 hours.

I understand why they were concerned, but how I was approached made me feel threatened. I'm afraid I will get this reaction anywhere we try to park. Downtown parking is not convenient for us.

Katie Elsbury

Belle Plaine