HOUSTON – On Wednesday, Houston City Council tagged a new proposal that would make it harder to find free parking.
Right now, you have to pay at a meter from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays.
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The new proposal would extend the time to pay until 2 a.m.
KPRC2 reporter Re’Chelle Turner spoke to people about the proposal.
“Oh that is absolutely horrible. I’ve never seen anything like that before no I disagree with that,” Carolyn Milton said.
“I think that’s kind of ridiculous things. First of all, everything’s getting too expensive as it is, so to make us pay for parking, like, longer in the day, I think is a little bit ridiculous. People literally will wait to, like, we need that pre-parking. There’s a cost to park everywhere else,” a man named Michael said.
“More money is not good but I understand the city has expenses,” one man told Turner.
The proposal was discussed on Wednesday, but council members did not vote. Councilwoman Tiffany Thomas says extending the parking hours could bring in more money for the city.
“Houston is a global city. We have a lot of conventions coming to town. NCAA was just here. Lots of convention business. World Cup is coming. That’s a soft opportunity for the city to make revenue so we can continue to provide additional services,” she said.
Thomas adds that you can ride the metro if you can’t pay for parking.
Mayor John Whitmire released a statement about the ordinance.
Under the City Charter, Council Members have a right to put an item on the City Council Agenda for consideration if three of them agree. I support their right to do it. In this case, three Council Members are playing an active role by introducing an idea to help bring additional revenue to the City. Such a privilege also comes with a duty to do more than present a good idea. I anticipate forthcoming conversations about data, analysis, and stakeholder engagement will help the other Council Members and I make an informed decision about whether this idea has merit. I welcome their ideas and will work with all council members. The council members must ensure they have strong public input and are aware of potential unintended consequences of any proposal.”
City council could speak about the ordinance next week and make a vote.