FAYETTEVILLE — With a strong nod to preserving the viability of the Walton Arts Center and its Dickson Street setting, the City Council approved a sweeping slate of changes to its parking policy in the Dickson Street entertainment district.
Nearly 1,000 free public parking spaces will transition to paid spaces while residents will receive extra protection through free permit parking tags.
“We’ve been talking about this for 10 years,” Mayor Lioneld Jordan said before the council voiced its unanimous vote in support of the new ordinance. “Tonight we finish this. We finish it one way or another.”
THE COST
Dickson Parking Rates
Proposed Auto Parking Rates for the Dickson Street Entertainment District
Monday through Saturday, 2 a.m. to 10 a.m.: Free
Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: 50 cents per hour, $3 maximum.
Monday through Friday 5 p.m. to 2 a.m.: $1 per hour, $5 maximum.
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.: 50 cents per hour, $3 maximum.
Saturday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.: $1 per hour, $5 maximum.
Sunday, 2 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Free
Sunday, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.: 50 cents per hour, $3 maximum.
Sunday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday: $1 per hour, $5 maximum.
Source: Staff report
“That was like a Cecil B. DeMille movie — 10 years in the making,” Jordan quipped in a witty reference to the iconic Hollywood director after applause from the gallery. Addressing the Dickson Street parking situation has been talked about for years.
“We need to do this, and we need to do this to keep Dickson Street growing,” said Matthew Petty, alderman from Ward 2, which includes the entertainment district.
“I think it’s just a marvelous treasure in this community,” said Hugh Kincaid, praising the Walton Arts Center and the importance of securing an expansion in Fayetteville. “We need to do everything we can to keep it viable right there on Dickson Street.”
To address last minute concerns, the council tacked on a series of amendments giving motorcycles 50 percent off of their parking if the bikes are in designated motorcycle spots. The mayor will also be allowed to waive all paid parking during large events such as Bikes Blues & BBQ. Also, residents will have a range of means to establish their residency in the area: Vehicle registration, rental agreement documents or tax records. The parking plans will be reviewed 90 days after implementation to determine what changes might need to be made, said Sharon Crosson, Fayetteville parking and telecommunications manager.
The city will implement the plan throughout the summer, installing about 20 pay-stations on streets and in lots, as well as gating the three lots surrounding the Walton Arts Center. The fees generated by the program will be earmarked in part to pay for construction of a parking deck. Included in the plan, the city will give the Walton Arts Center $289,000 a year to assist with programing. The council did not place conditions on the transfer of money, such as requiring an expansion of the Walton Arts Center happen in Fayetteville.
“This is a step in the right direction,” said Bobby Ferrell, councilman from Ward 3, praising the new parking plan. “And I know that there are some people who are not real happy. But when this is done, it can help to make it better for everyone.”
Some of the hurdles the parking plan has had to clear were criticisms by employees in the area who said outlying free evening lots such as the E.J. Ball Building lot, were too distant. However, Crosson noted — through maps drawn to equal scale — that the parking and building footprint of the Northwest Arkansas Mall is roughly the size of the Dickson Street district. Crosson also noted Fayetteville’s parking rates will be generally in line with parking rates in Eureka Springs, Springfield, Mo., and Tulsa, Okla.
“We believe that the rates that we establish in the ordinance are supported not only nationally, but with other cities in the region and they are supported with the other local private lots,” said Don Marr, Fayetteville chief of staff.