Please save Main Street parking spots for visitors, shoppers, and customers of small business
An OPINION by Shane Allen, Wellsville
Every community has its unwritten rules. They are rarely posted on signs, never codified into law, and seldom discussed openly, yet they become part of the culture that helps a community thrive. One of the oldest, most enduring, and arguably most important traditions of a successful downtown district is simple: business owners and employees do not park in front of their own businesses.
To some, this may seem unusual. After all, if you own a business, why shouldn’t you use the parking space directly in front of it? The answer is equally simple: those spaces are not for your convenience—they are for your customers.
Main Street parking is some of the most valuable real estate in any community. Unlike shopping centers with expansive parking lots, downtown districts typically have a limited number of highly visible, easily accessible spaces intended for visitors, shoppers, and clients. Every space occupied by a business owner or employee throughout the day is one less space available to a potential customer.
More importantly, not parking in front of your own business does not mean it’s acceptable to simply park in front of your neighbor’s business instead. The principle remains the same: the most convenient parking spaces should be reserved for the people visiting and supporting all of Main Street.
This practice is about more than convenience—it’s also about accessibility.
Think about the elderly, individuals with disabilities, or anyone with limited mobility. Not every customer has the ability to walk long distances. Some use mobility aids, while others may not have an official handicap designation but still struggle to comfortably walk from distant parking locations. By occupying a prime parking space all day, a business owner may unintentionally create a barrier that prevents someone from accessing not only their own business, but neighboring businesses as well.
A customer’s experience begins before they ever walk through a door. If visitors cannot easily find parking, they may become frustrated, postpone their errand, or simply choose to do business elsewhere. In an era where online shopping and big-box retailers already provide significant competition, creating unnecessary barriers to downtown accessibility only makes it harder for local businesses to succeed.
Main Street is an interconnected ecosystem. Customers rarely visit just one destination. They may stop for coffee, shop at a retail store, visit a professional office, and dine at a local restaurant all in one trip. Easy access encourages them to stay longer, visit more businesses, and support the downtown district as a whole.
For generations, successful downtowns have embraced this unwritten code of conduct. Merchants arrive early, park a little farther away, and reserve the front spaces for the people who support their businesses. It is a small sacrifice that produces a collective benefit.
This isn’t a law, and there will always be reasonable business owner exceptions, such as deliveries, temporary circumstances, or legitimate short-term accessibility needs. However, as a general rule, communities thrive when business owners willingly park farther away and leave the most accessible spaces available to others.
Ultimately, this tradition is not about parking at all. It is about courtesy, stewardship, and recognizing that the success of Main Street depends on shared responsibility and a customer-first mindset.
The formula is simple: if you own or work at a Main Street business, park elsewhere. Utilize public parking lots, side streets, or less desirable spaces and leave the front-door parking for the people who matter most—your customers.
After all, isn’t that why you’re there? —To serve the customer needs by providing a product, service, or experience that people value. And even looking at it from a purely business perspective, leaving those prime spaces open simply creates more opportunities for customers to access your business and the businesses around you.
Simply put, if you are a business owner, don’t park in front of your own business.
Strong downtowns are not built by ordinances or regulations alone. They are built by small acts of courtesy that, when practiced collectively, help Main Street remain accessible, welcoming, and thriving for everyone.
Shane Allen is the owner of Computer Solutions and The Solutions Hub, two small businesses on Main Street Wellsville.
