Parking downtown is a big pain; that much is true.

This Monday marks the onset of summer — or at least Washington’s version — and regardless of the liquid sunshine falling from the skies, families will get the urge to travel, have fun and reconnect after a long, hard school year. This means that, yes, more people will be drawn to our quaint, Viking-loving, little town.

More people plus more cars equals fewer places to park.

Parking spaces, and the perceived lack thereof, are not the issue. The real point is there are too many cars zooming downtown. So, those who are screaming that Poulsbo needs more parking spaces are coming at it from the wrong perspective. Perhaps what downtown Poulsbo needs is fewer cars.

Rather than celebrating our emotional and physical dependence on our four-wheeled personalized transportation units, maybe we should try to use them less often.

It’s no coincidence that as our dependence on cars increased, so too did our waistlines. We’re doing our health no favor every time we unnecessarily climb into our cars instead of walking or biking to our destinations.

Instead of screaming for more places to park our vehicles, maybe we should be lobbying for bike racks, better — and safer — bike lanes and pedestrian paths and better bus routes.

If there’s not a time limit involved and if you don’t have to drag the kids along, why not walk? Better yet, bring the kids along. You’ll be doing them a favor by teaching them that walking is an acceptable form of transportation, as well.

It’s not that there’s too few parking spaces; it’s that there are too many cars.