The days of free parking could be drawing to a close, at least for one major Fayetteville parking lot.
Many people say finding a parking place is often a problem in downtown Fayetteville. So now, city and Walton Arts Center officials say they're ready to do something about it. Walton Arts Center President and CEO Peter Lane says their goal is to: "create some efficiency in those lots, and just begin to address the issues of parking downtown. When people come to Dickson Street, we have a parking problem. We've got a lot of people who view those lots as places where they can keep their cars for days and months on end, so we want to make it more efficient usage." Studies show 10% of vehicles in the Walton Arts Center parking lots are left overnight, or longer. Lane says paid parking could end that. "Many of the merchants in the business district will tell me that we're short somewhere between 200 and 2,000 spaces. I can't tell you exactly what the number is, but we witness it every night when we see patrons parking up in people's driveways, driveway owners turning their driveways into a parking lot and taking fees for parking, so we know there's an issue." But many drivers like U of A history major Kelsey Schuck say, they'll refuse to pay. "It's kind of frustrating because there's no where that's free to park." UA Senior Jonathan Brown agrees: "I think it's a bad idea because it's about the only free place to park close to campus. Hopefully, it won't start until after next May. If they do, I guess I'll be parking somewhere else." The Walton Arts Center brings about 150,000 people to Dickson Street, yearly, and Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan doesn't want that revenue going elsewhere. "We wanted to help The Walton Arts Center any way we could to be sure that they stayed in Fayetteville, so this is a step toward that. So this is the best way. We don't have any money to actually give them, but we do have control of those parking lots." Officials say it's still too early to tell how much revenue The Walton Arts Center would make as a result of charging for parking, but they say they'd funnel most of the funds back into the Dickson Street Entertainment District. With less than half of ticket sales going to cover their $9 million operating budget, Lane says paid parking could help.
Many people say finding a parking place is often a problem in downtown Fayetteville. So now, city and Walton Arts Center officials say they're ready to do something about it. Walton Arts Center President and CEO Peter Lane says their goal is to: "create some efficiency in those lots, and just begin to address the issues of parking downtown. When people come to Dickson Street, we have a parking problem. We've got a lot of people who view those lots as places where they can keep their cars for days and months on end, so we want to make it more efficient usage." Studies show 10% of vehicles in the Walton Arts Center parking lots are left overnight, or longer. Lane says paid parking could end that. "Many of the merchants in the business district will tell me that we're short somewhere between 200 and 2,000 spaces. I can't tell you exactly what the number is, but we witness it every night when we see patrons parking up in people's driveways, driveway owners turning their driveways into a parking lot and taking fees for parking, so we know there's an issue." But many drivers like U of A history major Kelsey Schuck say, they'll refuse to pay. "It's kind of frustrating because there's no where that's free to park." UA Senior Jonathan Brown agrees: "I think it's a bad idea because it's about the only free place to park close to campus. Hopefully, it won't start until after next May. If they do, I guess I'll be parking somewhere else." The Walton Arts Center brings about 150,000 people to Dickson Street, yearly, and Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan doesn't want that revenue going elsewhere. "We wanted to help The Walton Arts Center any way we could to be sure that they stayed in Fayetteville, so this is a step toward that. So this is the best way. We don't have any money to actually give them, but we do have control of those parking lots." Officials say it's still too early to tell how much revenue The Walton Arts Center would make as a result of charging for parking, but they say they'd funnel most of the funds back into the Dickson Street Entertainment District. With less than half of ticket sales going to cover their $9 million operating budget, Lane says paid parking could help.
