FAYETTEVILLE — Paid parking via credit cards, debit cards, prepaid reservations, and of course, cash, could be in the Dickson Street Entertainment District by July, say city officials. The Fayetteville Parking Division says it plans to keep the prices manageable.
“It won’t be too bad, because we’re not going to make our rates so that you’re not going to not want to come down here,” Sharon Crosson, manager of the Fayetteville Parking and Telecommunications Division, told a packed room Wednesday night in the first of three public input sessions the city has planned to familiarize residents with the changes.
Transitioning the hundreds of free spaces within the entertainment district is part of an overall strategy to pay for a parking garage. Building a garage could be five years away, Crosson noted. The move is also desired by the Walton Arts Center to better serve its patrons with finding available parking.
Street parking on Spring, Dickson and other streets, along with several lots that are free today, will become pay spots. The city will charge may be 50 cents an hour during the day, and $1 at night, with a $5 per night maximum charge. Residents living in the area will be issued some form of parking permit to prevent them from being charged. The city will also begin managing lots currently charging for parking. The idea, said Crosson is to eliminate towed or booted cars unless the violation is habitual.
Convenience — with the help of the latest parking technology — is driving parking proposals put together by the city.
“At any given point, we don’t want the visitor to walk farther than a block,” said Crosson.
That means if someone is parked at the bottom of Spring Street, and they’re having dinner way up on Dickson Street, and then realize their space will soon be out of time, that person should be able to walk to the closest parking kiosk and pay for more time. The city anticipates installing about 20 of the kiosks across the district. And that time could be bought with cash, or credit or debit cards. Another idea offered by Matthew Petty, an alderman who represents the area, would be to have patrons receive a text message when the parking time is nearly up.
“We have checked into the pay-by-cell technology,” Crosson told Petty.
Several months ago, the Walton Arts Center announced plans to transition three city lots around the theater to paid spaces. The idea is that the 400 spaces are premium and the Walton Arts Center planned to charge market rates for them. These spaces will become gated lots, but will likely be managed by the city, and the city will collect the money, Crosson said. The spaces will be marketed by the WAC, with the city and the performing arts center devising a plan to allow drivers to reserve a spot through the WAC’s Web site much like someone would reserve a table at a restaurant.
“There’s a lot of details that will have to be worked out,” Crosson said. “But you have a designated lot. Not a designated space.”
“The whole process is going to be a learning experience for all of us,” she added.
Enforcement of paid parking will have to be vigilant say observers.
“We’ll have more parking staff in the area, looking for violators,” said Terry Gulley, director of Fayetteville Transportation Director.
However, the area has a number of pay spaces already in place. And those empty spaces seem to be the most telling.
“Right now, there’s plenty of paid parking,” said Jacci Perry, a local real estate broker, who also helps to manage some of the pay lots. “It’s empty because of the free spaces. There’s really not a problem with parking. There’s just a problem with the free parking out here.”
At A Glance
Parking Proposal
Dickson Street Entertainment District Proposed Parking Policies includes:
Special rate for workers
Nighttime cutoff period for parking to deter drunken driving
Two residential parking zones
Monthly passes
Source: Staff Report