Frustrated with parking fees in West Seventh district? Fort Worth may have a solution
If the cost of parking has kept you from visiting Fort Worth’s popular West 7th district, the city has some good news.
By the end of the year, the parking meters might be free for two hours during the day in the bustling restaurant, bar and shopping district. The free hours will hopefully strike a balance between allowing people to easily visit the district and preventing long term parkers from taking up spaces all day, said Tanya Brooks, assistant director of the city’s transportation and public works department.
“There’s a need to turn over parking so people can feel comfortable dropping in real quick and then leaving,” she said.
Brooks said the city has been in ongoing talks with West 7th businesses since the parking meters were installed in August 2018. Many said the meters caused a drop in business, she said.
Currently meters charge $1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and $2.50 until 10 p.m. when parking becomes free. The meters can be adjusted by 25 cents on a weekly basis up to $4.50 per hour. Under the new rate structure, meters would be free for two hours between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. with each additional hour costing $3. After 5 p.m. parking would cost $3 per hour until 10 p.m.
The city council is expected to vote on the rate change Dec. 10.
Those wanting to park would use the FW PARK app or one of the electronic meters just as they would now, Brooks said. The system will provide the first two hours at no cost, but the driver will have to feed the meter after the second hour or risk a ticket.
Tickets cost $40.
Since the parking meters went in, 5,829 warnings and 10,058 citations have been written.
Free parking is still available in the Crockett Row garages, with validation from one of that development’s shops and restaurants. But be careful — those who visit other West 7th bars may be towed.
Meanwhile, on the other side of downtown, the city and Near Southside Inc. early this summer floated the idea of installing parking meters along the equally popular Magnolia Avenue strip. Advocates say the meters would force turnover, opening spaces for retail customers that are now taken up by workers while generating revenue needed to offset the cost of the parking garage.
The plan calls for adding a residential permit in parts of north Fairmount to prevent spillover on residential streets while the underused streets north of Magnolia would still be free.
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 6:00 AM.
