City leaders need to give drivers more time to adjust to the new parking kiosks in downtown Auburn before deciding whether or not to remove them.

The kiosks, that print paper receipts to be left on dashboards, have replaced parking meters in some parts of the city. They are easier to maintain, and because they replace nine or 10 parking meters, make downtown a little nicer looking.

But faced with the results of a survey indicating that people are very dissatisfied with downtown parking, some city councilors last week suggested that the kiosks might have been a mistake.

With any change comes a certain amount of expected backlash, so just because people are complaining doesn't mean that the change was a complete failure.

The city needs to not only give people more time to adjust, but must help people familiarize themselves with the new system by increasing signage explaining the rules. Moreover, we recommend that instead of a slew of tickets, a round or two of warnings be issued that explain to motorists what they've done wrong.

One of the complaints we've heard for years - from drivers and business owners alike - is that the city is too aggressive about parking enforcement. The last thing downtown businesses need is to have their customers decide not to come back because their visit was soured by a parking ticket.

The city needs to give drivers a bit of latitude - especially during this transitional phase - as people become more aware of the kiosks and how to use them.

Auburn put a significant investment into the new parking kiosks, and must not give up on them too quickly.

Parking meters probably caused some confusion, too, when they first appeared on city streets, but we all eventually learned how to use them, didn't we?

We've seen kiosks work efficiently in other cities and we believe that, given time, they can work effectively here, too.