The Solution to Downtown Parking Congestion Is So Simple, Even a Caveman Could Solve It!

City Planner Ramiro Gonzalez, with the municipal Bible, "The High Cost of Free Parking" tucked safely under his arm, graciously received the glad-handers who approached him after the Town Hall meeting on the proposed parking meter raise.  "Everyone that came up to me after the town meeting was in favor of a parking meter rate increase," Ramiro gushed according to some bystanders.

If Ramiro actually made that statement it went against the grain of 18 or 20 downtown property owners and citizens who spoke at the meeting. When Brownsville Metro Advisory Board Chairman Daniel Lenz called for a show of hands of those against the meter rate increase, an obvious majority raised their hands.  When calling for the same show of hands for those supporting the increase, three well-dressed ladies sitting together on the back row and two or three others raised their hands.  It was not close Ramiro, but spin away!

I'm not certain how much of the public comment four late-arriving city commissioners heard, but one commissioner, Jessica Tetreau-Kalifa, stated that, based on the public comment, she was changing her position.  She was now against raising parking meter rates.  Did Jessica and Ramiro attend the same town hall meeting?

E. Jefferson Street's empty metered spaces
Monday at 11:45 AM

Anyway, after calling City Planner Ramiro Gonzalez Monday morning to ascertain where the city's metered parking lots were located, the lots he said would be available to accommodate downtown employees of city businesses and relieve the congestion downtown, we set out on a pictorial survey. All of the pictures were taken between 11:40 AM and 12:00 PM Monday, January 27th.  For those familiar with Brownsville's downtown, Monday is likely the busiest weekday with ropa segundas featuring their most recent shipments not yet shopped by downtown patrons.   

Our pictures show clearly that downtown Brownsville has no shortage of parking spaces.  On this relatively busy Monday, you could have easily parked three dozen school buses on metered streets downtown.  Adams Street was nearly barren, while Jefferson Street and St. Charles were empty.  The heavy traffic was all on Elizabeth and Washington Streets.  Interestingly, downtown business owner, Reynoldo Garza, Jr., stated exactly this at the Town Hall forum last Wednesday evening.  

The city's metered parking lots at 10th and Washington, 10th and Jefferson, on St. Francis across from City Plaza and another lot at 9th and St. Francis were also monitored.  Some were nearly full, while others were empty.  The top two floors of the unmetered(free) City Plaza parking garage had many empty spaces.

Top Floor of City Plaza Parking Deck

What does this all mean? It means tripling parking meter rates downtown is unnecessary and not even relevant.  If making downtown spaces available in the prime shopping areas downtown is the real, actual goal, a simple assignment of downtown workers to the available spaces just outside Elizabeth, Washington and Adams Streets is  the easy, common sense solution.  Or, as one anonymous city department head suggested, the top two floors of the City Plaza parking garage could be dedicated to downtown workers at a monthly fee of $20.00.  That would give them incentive to park there, saving them $40.00 per month and freeing up the primary downtown streets to shoppers.  

Another ironic thing.  Ramiro is antsy to garner enough revenue from the tripling of meter rates to buy fancy, credit card accessible meters, yet many, many downtown businesses do not accept credit cards. Sometimes that's called being "out of touch."

One downtown parking lot nearly always full is the lot at 10th and Washington across form the popular Casa Anyer used clothing store and one half block from the city commission building. Despite lots available for city employees, a number of city officials park in this metered space, displaying city I.D.'s on the dash of their vehicles so as not to be ticketed. 

The always full lot at 10th and Washington.  The Land Rover
Discovery in the foreground belongs to City Attorney Mark
Sossi who parks in the congested downtown, but places a
city I.D. on his dash to avoid being ticketed.  It would not
hurt Mark to walk a block or two to a designated city lot.

Free Parking for Mayor and City Commissioners.  These spaces
are used twice a month, but must remain empty the rest of the time.