Solution eyed for parking woes in city

Officials to explore making blocks near park own district

FAYETTEVILLE — The solution to parking woes near Wilson Park could become a model for other neighborhoods experiencing a crunch among residents and students, City Council members said Tuesday.

The city just needs to figure out that solution.

On Tuesday, the council unanimously voted to explore making eight blocks south of Wilson Park its own parking district. The issue came up after council member Mark Kinion sponsored a measure that would have made spaces along Ila Street and Vandeventer Avenue residential-only.

Kinion, who lives in the neighborhood, attributed the parking problems in the area to poor planning and not to the sorority houses on or near Maple Street. He equated the sorority houses to event centers that regularly host hundreds of people but don’t have adequate parking for visitors.

“There’s nothing intentional about anything that people are doing,” Kinion said. “It’s unintentional because we did not plan well.”

Council member Matthew Petty said the area could potentially serve as an opportunity to implement a residential parking benefit district. The mobility and parking

plan the city adopted last year includes the idea of a parking benefit district in its recommendations. The study says a parking benefit district would reserve spaces for residents in a neighborhood during certain hours and make them available to the public for a fee during other hours. The money gained could go toward betterment of the neighborhood, such as sidewalk improvements and lighting.

“I think there are a number of mechanisms that could be devised that address some of the problems,” Petty said. “I don’t think a binary choice between having it all public and completely free or completely not public are our only two options.”

Eight people spoke on the issue, most of whom expressed enthusiasm for the direction the conversation was taking. Alan Wooten, a neighbor, said he appreciated the council wanting to look at the entire area. Looking at isolated streets would push cars from one block to another, he said.

“We’ve got a parking problem, and we’ve got a storage problem,” Wooten said. “I hope through what you all are talking about, you can come up with something that’ll work. I think you’re going to get pretty good support from the neighbors.”

The council tabled the item until Oct. 1. Parking Manager Justin Clay said staff will work on proposals in the meantime, and that the sorority houses also expressed interest in being involved.

“Indeed, there is a parking opportunity here within this proposed area,” he said.

In other business, the council left on its second reading a proposal to create an entertainment district. Mayor Lioneld Jordan asked the council to hold off on a decision because of the number of questions he had received from business owners.

The measure would allow event organizers to ask the mayor to let attendees walk around with alcoholic drinks within the entertainment district boundary, which covers most of downtown. Events already have to have a permit to operate.

Any event wanting outdoor drinking would have to close the street where the event is taking place. Anyone drinking outside would have to use a reusable or compostable cup of no more than 16 ounces. Another aspect of the proposal allows administrative approval of sidewalk cafes.

Bo Counts, owner of Pinpoint pinball bar, said bar owners work hard to manage the consumption of alcohol within their walls. An owner could face serious repercussions from Alcoholic Beverage Control if the proposal isn’t crafted carefully, he said.

“This is a lot more than an ordinance that sounds cool,” Counts said.