Critical local taxpayers voice a variety of complaints about the city’s two downtown parking ramps. Some date back to the original concept or the development deal that followed.

Other criticism is more recent. Besides the fact that completion of the project, which included residential development atop the garages and ground-level commercial space, stalled due to market forces and an ongoing legal dispute with the project developer over compliance with an agreement, those who have utilized the ramps have voiced other reasonable worries.

Among those more recent complaints are that the ramps leaked and that some people felt insecure parking in them.

On Monday, the Minot City Council accepted bids to address both those issues. One is for roofs and drainage systems that came in under the anticipated, and budgeted, cost. The second is to install a security camera system in the ramps.

The roofs were a necessity. The City has invested considerable resources into plugging holes and leaks on the existing structures atop the ramps – podium decks, which are the structural slabs on top of the ramps for future building. The roofs should address the leaking issue for 10-15 years, according to city staff, with little effort to maintain them.

There was little choice to be made here. City Hall must protect the investment in the ramps and certainly improving the leaking issue is good for residents and visitors who use, or who might like to use, the ramps. No one benefits if the ramps deteriorate.

Several people have contacted Minot Daily News in the recent past to voice concerns about their physical safety when parking in the ramps, or even that the issue prevents them from being comfortable utilizing the ramps. While a security camera system isn’t a fix-all for every potential security threat, they are generally a good deterrent and will hopefully prompt confidence in parkers.

No one could have foreseen the particular challenges the ramps project would eventually face. There are also limits on what actions the City can take.

However one feels about the ramps and their future, it is integral to address the roofs and security situation. What other realistic choice is there?