It’s free to park in Fort Worth’s West 7th bar district again, but only for two hours
The Fort Worth City Council has approved free two-hour parking during the day in the West 7th district west of the Trinity River.
Those wanting to park would use the FW PARK app or one of the electronic meters just as they would now, said Tanya Brooks, assistant director of the city’s transportation and public works department. The system will provide the first two hours at no cost, but you’ll will have to feed the meter after the second hour or risk a ticket.
Under a new rate structure approved Tuesday, 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 meters can be adjusted by 25 cents on a weekly basis up to $4.50 per hour.
Tickets cost $40.
Previously, meters charged $1 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and $2.50 until 10 p.m. when parking becomes free.
Since the parking meters went in August 2018, 5,829 warnings and 10,058 citations have been written, according to statistics provided in November.
If you’d like to avoid driving altogether, Trinity Metro’s electric bus, The Dash, runs between downtown, , Crockett Row, the Cultural District and Dickies Arena.
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.
This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 1:59 PM.
