Visitors to Austin's Old 6th Street District will soon have a much easier and often less expensive option than using street parking and nearby lots. Next Level Valet & Parking is launching a new service accessible at 500 San Jacinto Blvd. starting August 22 that will park visitors' vehicles for $15 when validated at a participating business.

The service will initially operate Thursday through Saturdays from 4:30 pm to 3 am.

Who's behind the wheel
A press release frames the service as Austin's "first permitted 'valet district' operating in the public right-of-way." The "public right of way" means publicly owned land, including streets, sidewalks, and the space in between. Because of this, the service operates under a permit from the City of Austin's Right-of-Way Management Division.

The service is funded by the Pecan Street Owners Association, a maintenance and promotional nonprofit for the East Sixth Street National Register Historic District. It is the same group that led the reopening of traffic on Sixth Street early this year, a program that this release characterizes as successful, although many locals have expressed both optimism and concern for local businesses and doubts about safety.

How it works
The area of service — presumably the area where validated businesses are located — stretches from I-35 to Congress Avenue, and there will be one initial valet stand on San Jacinto between Fifth and Sixth Streets. Locals may recognize this as across the street from Eddie V's Prime Seafood and Antone's.

If permitting allows it, more valet stands near the intersection of Neches and Sixth streets will be added later. This will make it possible to drop the vehicle off in one place and pick it up in another.

To use the service, customers will drop their vehicle off at the stand, give their phone number, and then receive a ticket and text message. The text will contain their ticket number and links to review, pay, and request their car be brought back when they're ready to go. Participating businesses will use an on-site QR code to validate. The press release does not specify where cars will be parked after they leave the valet stand.

Valet customers won't be tied to visiting participating businesses; they just won't receive validation if they go somewhere else. Without validation, rates are $25 during operating hours, and $45 overnight for a pickup through the valet at The Driskill hotel (604 Brazos St.) starting at 7 am.

What stakeholders are saying
"Getting to the many amazing restaurants and entertainment destinations on historic Old Sixth – and home again – should be the least stressful part of the evening," said Next Level Valet & Parking CEO Andies Shepherd in the release.

Esther's Follies co-founder Shannon Sedwick and Pete's Dueling Piano Bar owner Corey Urbach also offered verbal support for the initiative.

"For nearly five decades, we've watched Sixth Street through our front window, said Sedwick. "Organizing the curb is part of making the district welcoming – less circling for parking, more butts in seats when the lights go down. This pilot shows businesses pulling together to enhance the guest experience."

Urbach adds, "Our guests show up in groups – birthdays, bachelorettes, conferences – and getting everyone in and out smoothly matters. A $15 validated option keeps the night simple and affordable: drop at the curb, sing your lungs out, then stroll back when you're ready. That kind of convenience brings locals back to Sixth."