Houston’s proposed changes come with recommendations from city o cials on other ways to get to Midtown besides a car. TRYING SOMETHING NEW
PARKING BENEFITS DISTRICT
60% of net meter and permit revenue collected between 6 p.m.-midnight would go toward public improvements. Project examples: Projects picked by 5- to 9-member committee
Walking/biking: The city’s Walkable Places Committee is developing
Public transit: The city is working closely with the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County,
Ride-sharing: The use of privately run services is encouraged.
crosswalk improvements, public art, bike racks, o - duty police patrol
recommendations for development requirements along transit streets to improve connectivity.
which seeks to improve connectivity in places such as Midtown.
of residents and business owners
COMMUNITY PARKING PROGRAM
see funding from the potential bene ts district put toward security to provide additional safety for cus- tomers and employees walking to and from their cars. Michael Lewis, the president of the Midtown Super Neighborhood—a group of residents, businesses and civic organizations—said he is working with the MMD to make sure residents are represented on the subcommittee. As of mid-January, he said the super neighborhood board was securing nal votes from its delegates on support for the bene ts district. “Many of our delegates are concerned that with- out [Midtown Super Neighborhood] representation on that committee, the money will be used for MMD projects that may not serve the best interest of Mid- town citizens,” Lewis said. Extending meter hours and forming the bene- ts district follow the playbook of Donald Shoup, a research professor with the Department of Urban Planning at UCLA. In December, Shoup spoke at the Rice University Kinder Institute for Urban Research about how parking reforms can improve urban metro areas. Parkingmeters were put intowhat Shoup described as a “commercial skid row” in Pasadena near Los Angeles with revenues going toward public services, such as rebuilding sidewalks, installing street lights and cleaning up alleyways. Once those improvements were made, residents and business owners collabo- rated to make more improvements, leading preserva- tion e orts for historic buildings. “Within three years, the sales tax revenue in the area increased ve times,” Shoup said. “It created this terri c upward spiral.” In addition to the bene ts district, Irshad said ParkHouston is also exploring a Community Parking Program, which would sell one-year permits to resi- dents for $31.17 for on-street parking in the district. There was some initial resistance to the parking permits when the Washington Avenue bene ts dis- trict was established, said Mark Fairchild, president
of the RiceMilitary Civics Club. However, once people realized they were paying to have their parking spaces protected, they started coming around, he said. “Once people gure out what it means, they come to accept it as a net positive,” he said. Groundzero for reform If the Midtown proposals go into e ect, Llamas said similar districts could make sense in other parts of Houston where parking is a challenge, including the Westheimer corridor, Montrose and the Upper Kirby area. Another piece of the long-term puzzle—combating the overreliance on cars—involves improving public transportation options, including the completion of bike connections and key expansions of the bus sys- tem run by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Har- ris County. Midtown’s parking changes are being considered as METRO is working to advance its $7 billion MET- RONext plan to improve public transportation city- wide. Projects a ecting Midtown include upgrades to the Scott Street and Westheimer Road bus corridors, which Llamas said also provides an opportunity to think about connecting the red bus lanes—which are reserved for carpooling and buses—from Westheimer to downtown Houston. In the meantime, evidence is building that Housto- nians are happy to take advantage of bike infrastruc- ture when they feel safe doing so, Llamas said, citing growing use of the city’s bike-sharing program on the bayou greenways. “It’s going to be an evolution,” Llamas said. “Things aren’t going to change dramatically tomorrow, but through incremental improvements, that shift will take place.”
Would provide one-year permits for $31.17 to residents for on-street parking.
Building type
3 per address 2 per unit 1 per unit for 50% of the units Permits allowed
Single-family Multifamily (grandfathered) Multifamily (built after 1982)
METER CHANGES Hours extended from 6 p.m. to midnight in late August in northwest portion of Midtown
New proposed meter locations
P
brought in about $20,000 in gross revenue per month since it was implemented, she said. Structureand representation The district could go before the Houston City Coun- cil for consideration in March. If approved, it would be run by a subcommittee of the MMD. Although the management district would have some of itsmembers on the subcommittee, Llamas said Midtown’s resi- dents and business owners would be the driving force determining how the money is spent. The money could be spent on projects that encour- age walking and biking by making it safer and easier for people to move around Midtown. Projects could include intersection safety enhancements, xing sidewalks, additional bike racks and new bike share stations, Llamas said. “We really have a lot of the pieces in place to be a wonderfully walkable, bikeable district, ... but some of the street infrastructure is really holding that back,” Llamas said. Cassandra DeBakey, event coordinator with The Dogwood and Electric FeelGood, two Midtown busi- nesses near Bagby Street, said she would like to
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