more money, more problems
Got a quarter? Extended downtown parking meter hours are in force
Plan on catching an evening show at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz this Friday or Saturday? How about getting some friends together for a trip to Dirty Sixth? Like many who are looking to have some downtown fun this weekend, patrons better be ready to have some extra pocket change for the downtown parking meters.
September 6th marked the implementation of the city’s revamped parking meter hours, with the biggest change being that free hours of parking downtown were significantly shaved off. They might just be enough to make Austin parkers go “Cool Hand Luke” on downtown meters.
From Monday through Wednesday, meters will only have an additional 30 minutes added to their hours of operation up to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday will have the bigger changes, with hours being increased to midnight. For Saturdays, which up until now were completely free, hours will now be from 11 a.m. to midnight. Sundays will still be completely free, meaning that the Sabbath will still be observed for downtown patrons.
These new hours apply to all street-side parking meters located between Cesar Chavez and 10th Street and from Lamar Boulevard to IH-35. All parking meters outside of this downtown area will have hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Saturday.
While the extended hours have already faced vehement criticisms since they were passed earlier this spring, city officials feel that the expanded hours will help to alleviate the parking congestion downtown and allow for more flow and turnovers in parking spots. The new plan also still compares favorably to the alternative of increasing hours and increasing the rate per hour. As of now, one dollar can still buy you an hour of parking, with three hours still being the limit.
In the current age of budget crunches, moves like these are inevitable. The added hours are seen as an easy stream of new revenue for the city, with $0.40 of every $1 going towards improving downtown amenities. New transportation initiatives will be funded, along with sidewalk improvements and street reconstruction.
So if you plan on getting drunk downtown this weekend, make sure you bring some extra change for the meters (and leave your car overnight). They also accept MasterCard, Visa and debit cards.
Or if you so choose, you can just move your party hours to Sunday nights. The bars are a little less crowded, too.