At the beginning of each of the parking input sessions this week, a draft of the imminent paid parking program was distributed to the crowd. But, even with the proposal, city staff is still amenable to changes to the plan.
The meeting Wednesday night was geared toward addressing the residential parking program. So far, the city has proposed a zone where only residents who live in the area can park.
However, some residents at the input session said the residential zone would not provide enough parking to accommodate all of the neighbors.
To placate those concerns, Sharon Crosson, the parking and telecommunications manager, said she had considered making all the parking in the entertainment district paid, and not having a residential zone. With that plan, residents would still have a permit that would allow them to park anywhere around their home, free of charge.
(If you’re looking at the map, this plan would change all the neighborhood parking to the green color, as opposed to green and brown.)
But, the residents countered, with that system, the public could still park in front of their home if they paid the fee.
That’s when a representative from the Walton Arts Center, Tim Vogt, suggested a hybrid system, where the residents would have the option of parking in the paid parking area free of charge, in addition to the permit-required zone.
Crosson seemed to approve this idea, saying near the end of the meeting “I think that’s the best of both worlds.”
In the paid parking area, the city will propose a reduced rate for employees who work on Dickson Street, Crosson said at the Thursday afternoon meeting with some Dickson Street merchants. A 90 percent discount for employees was thrown out at the meeting Thursday afternoon, though the final price has not been determined. The discounted rate would not apply to the premium spots, Crosson said.
In December, the City Council approved three resolutions asserting their commitment to institute a paid parking system in the entertainment district. One of those resolutions was aimed at the city acquiring the ability to manage the private lots around Dickson Street. If the city patrolled the lots, they would issue a citation for over-parked, instead of enforcing by towing or booting cars, Crosson explained.
However, a legal issue might arise if the city issued a citation for a violation on private property, City Attorney Kit Williams said at the meeting. In November, Williams requested for the Arkansas Attorney General to form an official opinion on the matter, but he has not received an answer, Williams said.
That piece of the parking program is not included in the draft proposal.
At 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 for a late July start-date for switching to paid parking.
Before enacting the new system, the plan would have to be approved by the City Council.
Graphic source: accessfayetteville.org
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.
I just think this is going to kill the scene. I mean sure, the frat kids will pay to park but its going to take even more flavor out of this town.
is it really worth the minor income its going to generate? the paid lots are usually empty anyway, is this some kind of lobbying by their owners to make everything paid so they can generate income?
people want to go out to dickson but there isnt usually THAT big of a draw, unless its a great show, I wont pay to park. Its going to hurt the entertainment districts economy, and its already a bum economy to begin with.
I think this is just going to result in more drunk driving as people dont want to be taxed for leaving vehicles over night. I cant really see the good side of this except revenue and really, you guys are throwing away money like its going out of style.. Bikes Babes and Bling? come on, what a waste of tax payer dollars, lets add something good to this town instead of remixing a festival that alot of the town DOESNT support anyway.
oh sweet more noise polution thanks guys.
I’d vote for any candidate willing to take a **** stance in this town against the corporate gentrification of the entertainment district. its losing all its flavor and now we are getting taxed on top of it. theres enough paid parking in this town as it is.
Its not going to be suprising when the “entertainment district” up and moves somewhere else because of this. people are broke enough and entertainment isnt cheap already, why make it worse?
This is completely disgusting. I don’t know if it will kill the district completely, but it will kill it for me… and I’m sure there are plenty more. For me, it ruins lunch on Dickson (why pay for parking at Flying Burrito when I can go elsewhere?), it ruins dinner on Dickson (a couple of bucks for parking is just another straw towards breaking the camel’s back), and it ruins standard bar trips on Dickson (I seriously chase happy hour specials and the like so a couple of bucks really does turn me off). Heck, even if the charge was infitesmal (sp?) it would drive me away because of the principle and the hassle of paying. I seriously will not pay for parking on Dickson unless there is an awesome band I want to see and I begrudgingly fork over the cash. Otherwise I’ll take my money elsewhere. Dickson has gotten less and less “funky” over the years and this is the final nail in the coffin for me.
We need more parking. This is the only way I am willing to pay for a parking deck & this will make Dickson better in the long run! This WILL NOT drive away the main customer base and if a second alternative scene develops, HELL YEAH! That would be awesome!
There are many people who avoid Dickson Street now because of the parking problems and the trafic problems caused by them. For those few who temporarily stop coming to the area it will be their loss and will free up parking spots for others. One reason that the paid lots aren’t utilized more is that people park in the residential areas now- that problem is being addressed. Another reason is the rather harsh enforcement methods the private lots use- that is being addressed also. A study done several years ago showed that the revenue raised by paid parking in the Dickson Street was enough to pay for a bond issue to build a deck- two decks, in fact. After the paid parking is is place long enough for the benefits to be recognized it will become the part of the expected experience of visting the area.
As a newer transplant to the area, I can say with certaintly that paid parking is definitely a downer for businesses. I lived 10 blocks from downtown Mpls and most of the people I knew would choose to drive outside of the downtown for restaurants and entertainment. Why pay for parking when I can get the same thing a few miles further without worrying about the clock running on the parking meter or parking garage. It is a great money maker for the city as long as they don’t drive away customers. We were downtown for 4 hours and had to pay 8 bucks recently. When you’re on a budget, that discourages going to Dickson.
I’m only down with paid parking if it funds something the citizens would love, like another harley rally – LOUD PIPES ARE NICE!
[...] have you guys heard about this new paid parking proposal for the Dickson Street area? The ordinances and resolutions to move toward that system were discussed at [...]