The impending paid parking program for the downtown area received the most attention at the town hall meeting Monday night. So, here’s the skinny, just in case you missed it.
The city’s written proposal for the paid parking program in the entertainment district will be turned in by the end of the week, said Sharon Crosson, the parking and telecommunications manager.
When paid parking becomes a reality on Dickson Street, Crosson said patrons of the entertainment district would likely try to park in the neighborhoods, looking for free parking. So, the proposal will establish a residential parking zone and permits will be distributed to the neighbors.
“This will be growing pains for all of us,” Crosson said.
When residents have events at their home, the city will provide an online application process to ensure their guests will not be ticketed, she said. The hope is to keep free parking for residents who live near Dickson Street, Crosson said.
During the question and answer session, Jim Laubler, who lives in Ward 4, said he was concerned about infringing on personal rights if the city requires residents to get a permit to have extra parking for events at their home.
“That doesn’t sound a whole lot like America,” Laubler said. “This isn’t Atlanta, Georgia or Houston,” he continued. “We’ve got some room here.”
One commenter suggested instituting a residential parking program that extended further into the neighborhoods of the downtown area, specifically around the University of Arkansas and Fayetteville High School because of the growth and construction in those areas.
“We need to make sure we’re looking at the whole large picture and that’s a much, much bigger circle than the west entertainment district,” Mike Johnson of Ward 2 said.
More public input sessions for the public parking program are scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
Switching gears from the parking issue, one comment from the public pertained to the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) approved for the development at the corner of Mountain Street and College Avenue.
The mayor, along with some aldermen, have been considering introducing legislation that would make developers more accountable for the tax break, said Don Marr, the mayor’s chief of staff.
Without the performance bond requirements, “we are in a wait and see mode,” with that development, Marr said.
Mayor Jordan voted to approve the TIF when he was an alderman, which he said was “probably an error on my part.”
Also at the meeting, the mayor plugged the upcoming Fayetteville Forward followup on April 17. At the all-day event, participants will be looking at the accomplishment of the summit in the past year and adding to the goals, Jordan said.
Mary Robbins is a regular contributor for the Fayetteville Flyer. She declared Fayetteville as her hometown upon moving here for college. She is a Journalism graduate who enjoys live music, the outdoors and attending city council meetings. For more of Mary’s contributions, visit her author page.
Does anyone know of other cities that have imposed paid nighttime parking on residential streets close to entertainment districts? I can’t think of any offhand. I believe Dallas enacted resident-only parking on several streets in the lower Greenville area, but that was mainly the result of residents complaining about people’s litter — not an attempt to raise revenue to build a garage with more pay parking spaces.
I spent a little more than a year living in Austin, a city with several thriving entertainment areas, and all of the street parking spaces were free after 5 p.m. and on weekends. There were still plenty of pay lots that were usually full, but for the most part, you could find free street parking if you were willing to look around and/or walk a few blocks.
I think this is a bad idea. I’m sure a city parking garage would be beneficial, but I think the city leaders need to go back to the drawing board, as far as finding a way to pay for it is concerned. This is just going to piss a lot of people off, and it’s likely that it could result in lower revenue for businesses in the area.
My popularity will surely be diminished if my friends have to pay to park their cars when they come over.
I still think this will fail miserably and we’ll end up spending lots of money and time implementing it just to tear it all down.
Can anyone on the city council tell me another city that has implemented pay parking in their entertainment district with great success? I travel quite a bit and don’t see this in much larger entertainment districts. I don’t know where we got the idea or why we think it will fly with Fayetteville.
[...] the town hall meeting on Monday night, Crosson said she hoped to have a proposal submitted by the end of this week. The city is aiming [...]
[...] what kind of stuff is discussed at these things? Here’s a recap from the last [...]