FAYETTEVILLE — Aldermen are considering changes to the city’s paid parking, including taking over night and weekend operation of a 63-space parking lot off West Avenue owned by the University of Arkansas.
Sharon Waters, Fayetteville parking and telecommunications manager, said Tuesday most of the changes are general housekeeping items.
“We went through the parking ordinances with a fine-tooth comb and tried to catch anomalies and inconsistencies,” Waters said.
At A Glance
On The Agenda
Fayetteville’s City Council meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the City Administration Building, 113 W. Mountain St.
Other items on the agenda include:
• Regulating door-to-door solicitation
• A $435,000 contract with Arco Excavation and Paving of Springdale for removing the foundation and concrete slab at the former Tyson Mexican Original plant, 1851 E. Huntsville Road
• A rezoning request for about 6.9 acres north of Wedington Drive and west of Rupple Road. The change would allow up to 22 single-family houses and 48 multifamily units.
Source: Staff Report
If the City Council approves the changes, residents would be prohibited from leaving a vehicle in one location on a city street for more than 14 days. Truck drivers would have 15 minutes to park in loading and unloading zones — down from 30 minutes. And non-emergency repairs, such as oil changes or engine replacements, would be prohibited on city streets.
“That kind of stuff, we’re going to get pollution problems if we allow people to do that,” said Kit Williams, city attorney. Violators would be subject to a $70 fine.
Waters said a 2 p.m. start time for paid parking in the downtown entertainment district made it into some sections of city code in 2010 when aldermen pushed paid parking back from 10 a.m. to accommodate the lunchtime crowd on Dickson Street.
The law doesn’t clearly differentiate between the entertainment district, where parking is controlled with a system of kiosks and numbered spaces, and the “downtown business district,” where parking can generally be paid for using coin-operated meters. Ordinance revisions would clarify both of those issues, Waters said.
She added she has regularly voided citations for out-of-town visitors or for residents who forget to renew residential permits for the first time. Proposed changes would give the city’s parking manager authority to reduce fines “for good cause.”
Also with council approval, Fayetteville will begin collecting fees and fines for a parking lot north of Z330 Bar, south of a university College of Education and Health Professions building and across West Avenue from Teatro Scarpino.
Gary Smith, university director of transit and parking, said by email Tuesday the lot has been a paid lot for the university for about five years.
Waters said turning over control to the city will help eliminate confusion and create uniform fees and fines with other city lots. Citations for overtime parking would be $15 — just like other city lots. And cars wouldn’t be towed or booted, Waters said.
Drivers would still need a university parking permit between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Rates for the general public would be $1 per hour after 5 p.m. weekdays and between 6 p.m and 2 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Rates would be 50 cents per hour between 2 and 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Waters estimated the 63-space lot would generate about $12,000 each year to offset expenses associated with the city’s parking program. Money from citations would go to the city. The university would keep parking fees after paying the city for operation and enforcement.
Waters said the arrangement would be identical to other parking lots the city patrols but doesn’t own, such as the lot behind the E.J. Ball building between Center and Meadow streets and the lot along Spring Street between East and Block avenues.