FORT WORTH (WBAP/KLIF)- The Fort Worth City Council approved to have 2 hours of free metered parking in the West 7th District.
Starting Friday, you can park at the metered spots for free for two hours between 10 am to 5 pm. The change was made after businesses in the area complained the parking rate and it’s inconvenience scared people away.
Anthony Alafante employee at Concrete Cowboy says he thinks this will bring more people in during the day. “The biggest problems here right now is the parking because this is a place where a lot of people want to be but with limited parking and rates, it takes away from a lot of people wanting to be here so I think this will open up a lot of opportunities for existing businesses and possibly new businesses opening here,” he said.
Wes Shannon comes to the area frequently, he said parking fines are also a concern for people. “They write tickets really quick around here, the people who monitor the parking are really efficient… if you go a minute over you’ll get a ticket and it’s $75 to $100 right off the bat…it’ll be nice not to have that,” he said.
General Manager at Mash’d restaurant and bar Megan Hobbs says these fines have stressed people out and thinks the free parking will definitely help.
“People complain it’s inconvenient , it’s hard to figure out how to pay for it and sometimes they think they did and they get a ticket and have to fight it,” she said. “Parking is already a stress in Fort Worth…I think with this change it’ll be one less thing for people to worry about,” she said.
City leaders voted unanimously in favor of the change. A $3 rate will be charged for the third hour and from 5 pm to 10 pm it will also be $3 an hour.
.#FortWorth City Council unanimously approved to have 2 free hours of metered parking in the #West7thDistrict from 10a-5p. After 2 hours it’s $3 an hour. I spoke to businesses in the area- managers say the change will help bring in more visitors @WBAP247NEWS @570KLIF pic.twitter.com/aIVeHLC65l
— Katrina Boonzaier (@katrinaboonz) December 11, 2019
