Wednesday, January 30, 2013

WHO pays?

Fort Worth's parking problems just keep mounting.  You have those that won't return to the Cultural District due to the horrid paid parking garages and patrons not hanging out on West 7th because they are afraid of getting their car towed.

Now it moves inland to downtown.

Check out the story on KVUE.com.

So we were surprised when a delivery driver rolled up and unloaded on us, and on parking officers who've been taking some heat for doing their jobs.

"They're harassing everybody down here in Fort Worth," the driver yelled over two lanes of traffic. "Nobody wants to come down here anymore. They're making it impossible for everybody to deliver. They're not helping!"

As the driver drove away, he screamed, "They're ticketing everybody!"

Scott Timberlake, the manager of P.F. Chang's, picked up the theme.

"All my vendors are getting tickets for parking in the same places when they drop stuff off for deliveries," he said. Timberlake believes strict enforcement will also hurt his carryout business. He said he'll take up the issue with city officials.

Part of the frustration stems from new rules on identifying commercial vehicles. Officials say delivery trucks must have a $75 permit or else be clearly marked with lettering in contrasting color at least 3 inches in height. The goal is to keep loading zones open so trucks won't clog up traffic lanes already squeezed by construction.

In fact, one of the first tickets in the new effort was found tucked beneath the windshield wiper of Mayor Betsy Price's official vehicle.

She wasn't the driver, but she paid the ticket.

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