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I can’t think of a better way to kill small downtown businesses that are already struggling. Our city council is populated by idiots. All these years, and they still haven’t noticed that when you raise prices on something, people buy less of it. This is exactly what pushed Katz’s over the edge. I guess they’ve decided they want to run all the bars on 6th Street out of business so they can seize the properties for unpaid taxes and sell them to developers to put up more high-rise condos.
NJM: as the writer states, all of this would be fine and indeed normal if we were talking about a city with useful public transportation, like Chicago. But try going downtown for a whole evening using Cap Metro. As long as you don’t mind leaving for home at midnight, I guess it’s OK - but for most club shows, that’s right when the headlining act goes on. I live only 5 miles south of downtown - which in most big cities would place me in an area well-served by trains, buses, light rail, etc. But I can’t use the bus to go downtown on weekends unless I want to A) expend 30-40 minutes for a bus to appear and take me downtown, when it takes about 12 minutes to drive; and B) take a $25-30 cab ride home if I want to stay out past midnight. Or walk 5 miles…after several drinks (I’ve done it. Not recommended). Great. I don’t think it’s “whining” to point out that this is a huge problem for a city that’s so dependent on live entertainment for tax receipts, marketing, etc. and wants to make downtown a focal point for the entire region.
The first thing I thought of was how safe it will be fumbling to feed a meter after dark. As a single woman, I’m not too keen on the idea of having to figure out where to pay, dig for change or return to put a sticker on, and perhaps need to do it all over again just a couple hours later. Depending on how real a problem this turns out to be, this will be a factor in my decision to patronize downtown businesses.
No offense, but ATX has some WHINEY souls. After moving from Chicago, I can’t believe how cheap parking in this city is! This is NOT a catastrophe people…it’s seriously like every other big city that charges to park for longer hours!
One group of people they completely failed to take into account with this law: the ones that actually LIVE downtown. In a city that is trying to encourage more people to move downtown, this change will go a long way to undermine that effort.
Few (if any) downtown apartments/condos offer guest parking . If you live downtown and you have friends visit, they have to find street parking. Fortunately, except on some weekend nights, that wasn’t a problem. Until now. This will seriously discourage people not only from visiting downtown, but also choosing to move there.
Yeah, it’s the church go-ers fault, darn ‘em. What with their having to put up with every event that closes streets making their churches inaccessible and their sharing their parking with the public all these years. Yep, this is all their fault. Maybe if we all keep complaining about free Sunday parking the city will listen and charge that day, too. That would be the most lucrative day of the week for parking revenue for sure. It’s time everyone admits that the primary function of downtown is partyin’ and pukin’. Any other activities should be subordinate.
The City’s 2010 budget is $2.8 Billion dollars. This raise in revenue (3.1 million) will garner a little more than 1/10 of 1% of the City’s annual expenditure, which can politely be described as minimal. Additionally, I wonder if this new tax will decrease downtown sales and liquor tax revenue (through decreased demand) by an equal amount, so that it will, in the end, be revenue neutral. So, it seems likely there is minimal positive revenue impact to the City, but great upside if you own a private lot.
several more reasons for me to stay away from downtown.
and you make an excellent point about the potential increase in drunk driving. folks might have stayed downtown longer to “walk off” a couple of drinks, but now they’ll be tempted to get into their cars when these meters expire and drive home sooner rather than later.
i guess Sundays for downtown festivals like Pecan Street, etc will be packed !
Then there is the fact that if you are musician or band playing downtown you will have to spend your tip money (if you even get tips -because you sure don’t get paid) for parking. Many a time I’ve gone downtown with no money in my pocket or bank account to do a gig, hoping we get enough for a drink and a hot dog.
This helps the burgeoning scenes just outside of the downtown area. Residents surrounding downtown (the “regulars”) will opt to park free in East Austin or Soco, etc. when they want to go grab a beer or bite to eat on a weekday. Downtown restaurants and bars already have trouble getting business M-W. The parking spaces are readily available. Add to that the fact that workers are going to avoid shifts M-W when tips are already low. Bye Bye downtown restaurants. Ask Dallas about their downtown scene and parking meter revenue.
We were at the Monday night show, and it was amazing! I’ve never seen Willie live, and was extremely excited to do so. Willie holds the stage like none other, and with the orchestra, I certainly cried as well! I think I cried the most when he started singing old hymnals that I sang with my late grandmother every Thanksgiving.My only complaint, and I felt the same when we saw Cody Canada and the Departed the Friday night before, was the temperature of the venue…we were sooo hot. Other than that, Willie was AMAZING, and Moody Theater is gorgeous! Even at the very top of the balcony, you still feel like you have a front row seat!
I loved the movie, I went to Chris Morris’s lecture at the British film institute. Great director Really did his research beforehand, nothing in the movie was offensive. Great movie
I can’t WAIT to see a show here. So long to the acoustical hell that is AMH.
Michael Cera is aggressively annoying.
I LOVE WILLIE!!! Thanks for the memories…for my very special birthday……………….
best sound ever in a venue’s bathroom
well we can see this Liberal Rag practices censorship,except when it comes to Republicans
I wonder if will start his new record “live from Huntsville Prison”
Love the photo of you and Willie. Wish I had gotten tickets in time to see him last weekend but instead I will be dancing to Robyn at ACL on Thursday.
