To the editor:

My husband and I visited your town on Sept. 18, as we have many times in the past, to shop your downtown businesses, particularly the antique shops.

We drove around the area, and it was very busy with people and cars, until we found a space to park in front of the barber shop. We shopped for approximately two hours and, upon return to our vehicle, found a parking ticket on the window for $40 for parking in a 30-minute limited space. We didn’t notice this limited sign, as all others in the downtown area are two hours.

We went to the police department and were told that your City Council passed a parking ordinance due to the fact that people were parking for extended periods in the downtown area. It was not known whether these people were visitors or downtown business owners. And we were also informed that the business owners could request a limited parking space in front of their businesses.

So, Mr. Barber Shop Owner, was that you who reported our parking time when you could have called out your door and informed us of the limited parking and we would have gladly moved our vehicle?

I did see a “going out of business” sign on one of your buildings and there will be more if you continue to treat the visitors to your town with $40 parking fines. Many cities the size of yours do not even have limited parking or meters in their downtown areas. They welcome shoppers and visitors because they know how important they are to the community and the growth of the downtown areas.

On the ticket, the fine apparently started at $5 and has risen to a ridiculous $40 for 2015. I don’t know when election time is for your county, but maybe the voters should consider new people with friendly ideas on how to regulate the downtown parking problems.

After paying the ridiculous ticket, we drove around looking for other limited spaces. I did note one other 30-minute space on a side street, as well as many 10-hour limited spaces close to the police department and surrounding buildings.

So what was supposed to be a relaxing day in Delaware, shopping for that perfect find, turned into a bad experience in a town we no longer will visit — ever!

Debra and Mike Morgan

Tiffin