Graphic: Todd GillWalton Arts Center exploring paid parking
The most popular parking lot in Fayetteville’s entertainment district might not be free for much longer.
The Walton Arts Center and the City of Fayetteville held a press event Monday to announce intentions to begin formal discussions about a new parking option for three parking lots surrounding the arts center. The discussions will explore converting the lots from free to paid during certain times and are primarily being fueled by what the Walton Arts Center sees as a growing parking problem around its facility during events.
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A recently commissioned survey of Walton Arts Center patrons shows that in the last five years, satisfaction with parking has dropped significantly. In fact, over two-thirds of those surveyed indicated frustration surrounding the ability to find convenient parking during Walton Arts Center events.
According to materials provided by Walton Arts Center, the main West Street lot is full by 6:30 pm on a typical weekend. On an average day, WAC says about 10% of the cars have been left overnight and many of those tend to stay for multiple days.
The parking lots affected would be the previously mentioned main Walton Arts Center lot, the smaller lot at West and Spring and the lot on N. School between Smiling Jack’s Fresh Foods and Highroller Cyclery.
The details such as cost and timing have not yet been worked out but with the possibility of the Walton Arts Center moving away from Fayetteville still on the table, is seems probable that city officials will want to keep the performing arts center happy in its current location. The City currently owns the lots in question.
As a key economic driver in the Dickson Street entertainment district, Walton Arts Center says it brings nearly 150,000 people to the area – 45% from outside Washington County – for more than 100 performances each year.
More from the Web
- Walton Arts Center Considers Parking Charges – The Morning News
- Drivers Against Paid Parking in Walton Arts Center Lots – KFSM
- WAC May Charge For Parking in Dickson Lot – KNWA/Fox 24
Comments
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Dustin
October 20, 2009
I’ll be curious to see if anyone pays. For the most part, the paid lots in town are empty a lot of the time. For whatever reason, people in Fayetteville don’t pay for parking.
Starr
October 20, 2009
It would be much cooler if you could show your ticket from WAC when you leave and have the parking fee waived whereas if you parked there without being a patron you pay a fee. I just think paying for parking will mean that even more working class people won’t be able to afford to come out to shows.
Starr
October 20, 2009
Dustin, I think you’re right… no one will use it! The paid lot they put on West street is never full….
07stiltd
October 20, 2009
This is a good way for the city to remove revenue from the businesses on dickson st. If I’m headed downtown for the evening and can’t find a place to park, I’ll just go home. This will make finding a spot on the street even more difficult, resulting in my just not trying to go downtown anymore. :(
Todd Gill
October 20, 2009
@07stiltd – Interesting point there. I’ve made similar decisions myself. In fact, there have been times where I’ve decided to go out on a random week night simply because I knew I could park in the corner of the main WAC lot at Dickson and West. I knew I could park, run across the street, meet up with friends for an hour or so and then head home before dark. Having to pay a few more bucks might not always deter me, but it would certainly factor into my decision sometimes.
Brad
October 20, 2009
Does anybody else see this as WAC’s attempt at a bargaining chip? The rumors of the WAC moving to Bentonville have been around for a couple years now and I read this as their way of saying ‘if you don’t give us what we want, we’re going to take our ball and leave’.
Beebs
October 20, 2009
I certainly don’t want to start paying to park in these lots. We might not have much choice though if these turn into paid lots. These lots listed above are pretty much the only options as far as realistically finding a spot at night.
milky
October 20, 2009
Looks like Mr. Milky (AKA the cheapest man ever) and I will be doing even more walking to Dickson.
The Truth
October 20, 2009
@Brad I certainly think this is a bargaining chip, but I think the impetus comes from the other side. I see this as the city saying, hey, please stay, we’ll give you monies!
Don’t know if that will work, but I bet that’s the case.
I also seem to recall Mayor Jordan in his campaign promises lambasting Coody’s plans to make downtown parking paid. Whoops.
burgerboy
October 20, 2009
I don’t see anything wrong with them making it pay parking as long as its a reasonable rate.
$1 per hour isn’t too bad. But something like $2.50 per hour would hurt.
I wouldn’t mind paying a little to park at that lot if it meant I could definitely find a spot.
As it stands it seems like they are leaving a lot of potential revenue on the table. If this is the first step towards getting a garage built with some kind of storefronts along Dickson, I’m all for it.
burgerboy
October 20, 2009
@TheTruth: Jordan said whatever he needed to say to get elected. Surprise.
drewrid543
October 20, 2009
Has anyone considered that paid parking leads to more drunk driving? I know my friends and I are much more likely to take a cab home if we have a place where we can leave our cars overnight and come back and get them the next day.
Libertas
October 20, 2009
I would be more likely to go to Dickson Street if the city gave me free parking and gas money and beer coupons and a free lunch and vouchers for cover charge and a ride home. I would be glad to let the taxpayers provide all of these things for me. We have enjoyed socialized parking and found it good, so let’s extend the principle.
Possible
October 20, 2009
I agree with Drewrid543. I know this is wrong, but when making community decisions you have to consider that 60% of the population are idiots. An idiot will drive to Dickson. Pay for parking. Get drunk and drive home. Paid parking will take away the safety nets. But the city doesn’t care. They’ll rake in the dough with all the DUI fines.
Jon Cox
October 20, 2009
I always just park in the Center St Church of Christ lot. It’s three blocks away and never full.
chris c
October 20, 2009
This is a terrible proposal because it certainly won’t increase people’s ’satisfaction’ with parking and because it will in fact encourage drunk driving.
What the administration fails to grasp is that most people don’t consider paid parking to be actual parking. Some of the comments posted already attest to this. So people will feel that there is actually less parking on Dickson if this is done.
With regard to drunk driving, this is a no-brainer. 10 percent of cars are left overnight in the entertainment (READ: BAR) district? And nobody thinks this could possibly be a sign that those people had too much to drink and decided to get a ride home instead of drive?
There are a number of creative ways that could improve the situation, but this proposal seems to make things worse.
chris c
October 20, 2009
One thing that should be enforced, however, is people parking in non-parking spaces in the WAC lot. It makes the whole place even more dangerous and hard to navigate.
George
October 20, 2009
“Socialized parking.” LOL. That’s good stuff. It would be really cool if they added vehicle death panels as well. If you park there you run the risk of your car getting towed off and destroyed (mercifully) for being too old/gay.
Socialized entertainment! Now we’re talking, Libertas. Sign me up for an excessive helping…..followed by some government sponsored substance abuse treatment.
I’ll park in hell!
katesayshi
October 20, 2009
there is a new paid parking lot on the corner of mountain and college and it’s ALWAYS empty. center street parking is always PACKED due to mariachis, taste of thai and mediocre good pies. the street has EVEN lost business due to prospective patrons not wanting to pay the $5 after 5pm deal that is offered . The street meter prices are great bargain and could possibly be implemented at the parking lot on west and dickson. Let’s entertain that idea.
neuville
October 20, 2009
I’d like to see the Walton Arts Center just try to move to Bentonville. It’s a completely different town and unless you’re wearing a Wal-Mart hangie and middle or upper class, you won’t be welcome.
WAC would shrivel and die.
Offcamber
October 20, 2009
The land currently occupied by WAC would be better used for multi-story mixed parking (free please), commercial, and green space. With a clean slate, imagine what visually appealing and useful works could stand there.
The WAC is a visual blight, a faceless red-brick clone of Springdale First Baptist. Raze it and have the faux-mink-coat and “I don’t feel safe on Dickson” crowd move on to Benton County.
mpetty
October 21, 2009
I wanted to chime in on a few things before I retired for the evening.
#1 – The Walton Arts Center is not going to move. They seek only to expand, and the facilities that exist here will always be the Walton Arts Center. It is likely that there will be expansion in Fayetteville AND other communities, and, quite frankly, that will be a Good Thing.
#2 – In my opinion, paid parking = growing pains. There are still lots of free parking options available that are within a few blocks. In any other community, these would be considered prime parking. The fact is that right now our parking system is unbalanced, and this is a step towards restoring balance.
#3 – It would be foolish to ignore that Fayetteville is on the cusp of a cultural explosion, and with that burst of culture will come increased demand on downtown. While parking may be a minor nuisance now, in ten years it will be a household complaint without proper action. It’s important that we get started.
@Offcamber – Raze the WAC? Are you serious? The vision you suggest is possible in the WAC parking lot and/or the depot lot. Why would we need – or want – to raze the WAC? If anything, we should try to incorporate their expansion into the development of the parking lots.
Offcamber
October 21, 2009
Two threads here, parking and WAC.
First, the paid parking plan lacks foresight and creativity, and worse, is biased to one Dickson Street institution at the expense of the rest.
We know the woes of business owners when a few dozen parking spots were ripped up in the messy beautification project. Drive-up appeal is huge for the bars and restaurants on Dickson, and effectively removing several hundred spots is a loss. It’s a social hub, and reducing accessibility and convenience starves interest and commerce. We’re not rubes. How many people will pay for the same product that was previously free? Few, based on other pay parking options. I can afford a parking stub and even predatory towing fees many times over, but Dickson Street is vying for my attention and money, and I’d reduce my visits out of principle. Dickson is not THAT happening.
Secondly, the problem of the WAC and its needy administration.
The performing arts are not married to the intersection of West and Dickson. Seating and stage expansion will always be limited by real estate. As NWA grows, the WAC will not. Bigger draws and bigger crowds require bigger land. Call the WAC administration’s bluff, and let them build a newer, nicer structure elsewhere. Everyone benefits. The WAC’s prime location at the intersection of Dickson and West could have so many more exciting uses than an ugly brick cube.
I’m thinking the current location of the WAC would be perfect for intermodal transportation (bus, car, trail, etc. connections), green space, restaurants, bars, parking deck, or combine them all in a striking new multi-story structure. Remember what sat there before the WAC? Abutting buildings, aka higher-density architecture, aka the proper way to arrange urban downtown areas.
Am I crazy? No, I have pragmatic vision, something that regularly fades within Fayetteville leadership. Fayetteville’s answer to so many ills of late is to ask for more money and fees with nothing solid to show for it.
07stiltd
October 21, 2009
Even at $1/hr this would deter me from parking in these lots. I typically spend between 6 and 8 hours on dickson st. when I go out. That parking fee is going to take the money I would have spent on one mixed drink or a couple beers and the tip, or an hour of billiards. Being on a fixed income does not allow me to just say oh well, pay the extra $8 for parking. I’ll have to cut something out in order to pay the parking fee. Not gonna happen.
Donkeylips
October 21, 2009
Hell yes raze the WAC. It is THE ugliest building on Dickson!
Fred Hanna
October 21, 2009
I say charge for parking and give all the proceeds to the WAC. Mrs. Lewis needs a new fur coat.
But seriously, should we be entertaining the rich at the expense of the poor? I think not. The taxpayers have already spent millions over the years improving Dickson St. Enough is enough. The parking should be kept free “for the people”.
I’m going to roll over now…
Offcamber
October 21, 2009
These are public lots built and maintained using taxpayer money. Lioneld Jordan wants to turn over control to the WAC, a third party with full discretion in how much money is raised and where it is spent. The WAC would be under no obligation to invest in parking expansion or other needed infrastructure improvements.
This is outrageous. Jordan is about to give needed PUBLIC (taxpayer-funded, voter-accountable) parking to a PRIVATE institution. These lots serve all businesses and needs in the general area, and now stand to be monopolized by one entity.
The fees would NOT go into City of Faytetteville coffers. And why? Solely to deter all but WAC patrons from using the lot. Jordan wants to give up free, public facilities because some WAC patrons surveyed felt *inconvenienced*!
Urk
October 22, 2009
Fred, we hardly knew ye (apparently…)
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