New Ideas on Parking
The first story about ”problems” parking in Bricktown was reported in 1990. That’s a fact.
So this discussion isn’t new. I’m not sure that I saw a lot of new ideas in the consultant’s report on Bricktown parking, though as one person told me, it might take an outside consultant repeating solutions mentioned by others to get people’s attention. But there is some intriguing discussion going on at Blair Humphreys’ Imaginative America. In he past few days I’ve also heard ideas posted here and at OKC Talk that include parking meters that let you choose how long to park (and the prices go up for the longer periods) and a garage in Atlanta that lets people park for two hours free, and then charges them there after.
I did some thinking last night and read through the 70 pages again. And it occurred to me – no where in that study did the report try to delve into “what are we trying to accomplish?” By that I mean, what’s the intent here?
The folks who invented the parking meter (right here in OKC) knew what they were trying to accomplish – a way to ensure parking spaces rotated throughout the day to accomodate shoppers and other downtown visitors and discourage workers from parking curbside.
And seems to be part of the intent expressed by the study consultants from Dezman Associates. But hold on just a minute – parking meters were created for the Central Business District, where it’s assumed visitors won’t need more than an hour (most Bricktown parking meters assume two hours).
I’m also a bit uncertain of the authors’ logic of saying that those who used parking meters for more than four hours were likely employees of area business and not visitors. Oh really?
Don’t we want visitors to spend more time in Bricktown? How might one spend their time currently?
OK, they park. They stroll down Sheridan Avenue and the canal, looking around, considering where to eat. Let’s say they’re out for a really nice evening, and they choose Mickey Mantle Steakhouse. We’re easily talking about 90 minutes just doing this.
Now our couple out for a night on the town decides to check out the Painted Door gift shop, and they proceed to Oklahoma’s Red Dirt Emporium. They look at the statues and murals outside the ballpark. Add another 45 minutes.
Oh, look honey, there’s the canal boats … Add another 45 minutes, usually… BUT WAIT! Guy sees the Bass Pro Shops and asks the boat driver to let them off. They spend 30 minutes at Bass Pro. They get back on another boat and head back for the Mickey Mantle plaza drop off. All together, the boat ride and detour at Bass Pro Shops lasts 90 minutes (they had to wait about 10 minutes for another boat to come by, and they did do some strolling as well).
We are now at 3 hours and 45 minutes.
Our couple arrived in Bricktown at 5 p.m., so it’s still pretty early – not even 9 p.m. How do they cap off their evening? Do they spend a couple hours at CityWalk, SkkyBar or Lit? Do they enjoy a horse-driven carriage ride? Do they go bowling at Red Pin? Or do they catch some live music at the Purple Bar at Nonna’s or at Toby Keiths? Or do they go play pool at the Brewery?
Any way you choose, we’re looking at five hours or more. And, according to the study’s authors, these folks must be employees because visitors won’t spend this sort of time in Bricktown.
So, here’s the first question when it comes to parking meters – what is the intent of having them in Bricktown?
Now, let’s move onto the parking lots. Again, what is the intent here? Are the owners and operators motivated to balance making money with also making sure they don’t charge so much that they discourage people from visiting? I suspect that there isn’t just one answer that applies here. For people like Don Karchmer, Jeff Moore and Marsh Pitman, it seems as if they’ve kept their parking rates comparably low; they are invested in the district in a way that involves far more than parking.
Then the question moves to parking operators like Virgil Haymon, who last week was arrested on complaints of charging people to park on a lot he didn’t control and in city right of way. He’s the first to admit he has no investment in the district and isn’t a member of the Bricktown Association. He’s just out there charging people to park and sharing the proceeds with property owners like Bob Meinders and Bricktown Burgers. He only operates when Bricktown is at its busiest – weekend nights, special events – and he is often hit with complaints of price gouging, using “boots” to lock tires of cars where visitors don’t pay him. So what is his intent?
We have the Cummings lot at Mickey Mantle and Walnut. Nobody seems to even know who this guy is, and he was the only owner/operator not present at a meeting last week. Most in Bricktown agree this corner is prime for development – yet the owner has seemed content the past decade charging $5 to $10 to park, sometimes more, depending on how busy the area is. He has as many spaces cramed onto the corner as is possible. What is his intent?
Then there’s Jim Brewer, whose family controls a majority of the surface parking lots in Bricktown. Brewer is a self made man who deserves a lot of credit for Bricktown’s early development. He was a talented promoter who made what was slim pickings for entertainment in the district’s early days seem like a lot. He owns several undeveloped buildings, however, and his lots have been among those charging people upwards of $20 to park when huge crowds hit the district. And yet he was also among those agreeing last week to a parking cap of $10 for special events and $5 during non-event days. What is his intent?
Then there’s the city. The folks at City Hall didn’t spend much time discussing the inequities in parking in Lower Bricktown versus old Bricktown when they agreed to take the money Randy Hogan paid them to develop Lower Bricktown and reinvested it in canal improvements and creating free parking for the area’s visitors.
The city did not say “let the free market dictate parking, Randy, and if it can’t be done without charging visitors to park, well then, charge them.”
Yet the city has done just that in old Bricktown, and even signed away control of lots it did own to private operators. So what’s the intent here?
Now, onto the visitors. I’ve been in Bricktown at its busiest and I’ve always found a place to park. I might have had to walk a couple of blocks. But guess what – that walk is no different than what you face when you decide to catch a blockbuster movie at Quail Springs Mall or go shopping at Penn Square Mall on the weekend before Christmas. If you’re willing to walk that much in suburbia when you know it’s going to busy, why the sudden laziness when it comes to enjoying downtown? What’s the intent here?
Finally, enough with comparing Bricktown parking rates to other cities. For whatever reason, the cost of living is lower here, but so is per capita income. The consultants themselves agreed that $10 parking here is not the same as $10 parking in Denver or Dallas.
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Comments
“If you’re willing to walk that much in suburbia when you know it’s going to busy, why the sudden laziness when it comes to enjoying downtown?”
Consider me convicted on that line alone, Steve. But I’m guessing I’ll still be dropping my wife off at the roadblock closest to the Ford Center and *I’ll* be doing the walking since she’s either/both 1) cold, or 2) in heels.
I think The Mantle has a great approach. Eat dinner there and get to valet park for free, and keep your vehicle there until you’re ready to pick it up after all your fun is over. Please be sure to tip my favorite Bricktown New Zealander well, though.
Steve, you are right on in your questions, but let me ask you one. Granted the cost of living in Denver and Dallas are very different than OKC, so what should Bricktown be compared to? Many want to compare it to the shopping malls or other Okc restaurant districts, that doesn’t work either.
Surely there must be another “entertainment district” model to compare bricktown to????
Great thoughts, Steve. I think Blair Humphreys’ Green Line idea that you nod towards should be given some publicity… it’s a very clever solution, I think.
Jim says:
“Steve, you are right on in your questions, but let me ask you one. Granted the cost of living in Denver and Dallas are very different than OKC, so what should Bricktown be compared to? Many want to compare it to the shopping malls or other Okc restaurant districts, that doesn’t work either.
Surely there must be another “entertainment district” model to compare bricktown to????”
My answer: What if there isn’t a good comparison? We can’t compare it to Fort Worth – economics aren’t the same. Ditto for Dallas and Denver, as you say. Wichita’s Old Towne doesn’t have paid parking, so we can’t do a comparison there either. But isn’t this really digressing from my basic question anyway? Are we saying the intent question is simply answered by “well, how much can we reasonably get away with?” I’ll be the first to admit it’s far easier to ask these questions than to answer them.
Final thought for this evening: A couple of years ago even the Dallas Morning News suggested that downtown Dallas had a lot to learn from downtown Oklahoma City.
Maybe we’re in unchartered waters here. If so, doesn’t that make it even more important to answer the very basic question – what is the intent wtih what we are doing today?
For years, I’ve hammered Jim Brewer over some of the parking issues, and yet not once have I given him the benefit of simply asking what his intent is. So I must admit, I’ve dropped the ball here myself. Hopefully, I’ll get to visit with him soon if he’s still feeling OK and will ask him this very question. Because after all, whether you love or hate him (he is one of Bricktown’s dominant parking operators), does anyone really think his intent is to kill Bricktown?
By the way, the guys at The Lost Ogle seem to think I’ve been spending too much time on Bricktown of late… what’s your preference, folks? What topics do you want to hear more about?
I see Bricktown as the hot spot right now and probably will be for a while. I agree that we are in uncharted waters here and there isn’t going to be an all answer solution. I think the exposure and the fact that media and consumers are asking questions are all really good for the development of the district. I think parking and public transportation will continue to be a sore subject until we can get some matters resolved. I think retail will trickle but not really take hold until we can figure out some of these questions. I don’t think Brewer’s intent is to kill Bricktown, but I do think he is a business man that’s intent is to make money. Sometimes we have to look at the big picture and think globally, what is best for the continued development…? I feel that instead of focusing all their effort on parking violations, the police dept. should be continually checking up on these parking lot operators. I’ve parked several times and thought that the guy taking my money looked really shady. All it takes is one negative experience for some people to not come back and especially out of town visitors. So that should give us great incentive to keep parking cheap, fair and consistent, oh and uncorrupted. Perception is reality, if I have to pay $20 to park, if I drive around and see “lot full” over and over, if I park and rely on public transportation (which currently isn’t on time ever)… if I happened to be new to the area, I may not return just based off my experience. We are on the verge of a potential explosion of growth and development with the NBA and relo of I40, start fixing the small problems now! Be proactive not reactive. On a positive note, I visited the Red Pin and it was very enjoyable.
As Jess said, I don’t think Brewer’s intent is to kill Bricktown, but he may indirectly do that because of his and other property owners greed. Unfortunately, I can already envision the day where Bricktown is about half of what it is today. If it weren’t for the close proximity of the Ford Center and the ballpark, it would die like the West End in Dallas. Once the new boulevard is in place and if/when we get a new convention center south of the existing Ford Center. The “hip” districts will shift south and west as well as we are already seeing good competition from quality developments in MidTown and Automobile Alley and the Triangle are on the rise too. This is all a symbiotic relationship, but Brewer, Hogan and the others in the good old boy network better adapt or they will cause their own demise in an area they helped create.
I am fully on board with Blair Humphrey’s Green Line proposal. It could be implemented cheaply and effectively and do more for downtown than a lot of other things we have going for us. It would be much cheaper even if we made it free than say to pay for a Bass Pro Shops, and would do MUCH MUCH more in the way of downtown development. I wish Mayor Cornett had the cajones to make us a real major league city and do something about Mass Transit instead of barely acting like it’s a problem or it’s a non-issue and leaving it for a future mayor to fix. If he wants a Big League City, tackle mass transit.
If a couple – rather than an employee – is spending 5+ hours in Bricktown and if we are working under the assumption that street spots should be there as a convenience for shorter term users then that couple should think about parking their car in one of the longer-term options the district has to offer.
Either way you argue it, street spots are a limited resource. We’ve got just over 200 in the district and its unlikely that we will ever be able to produce more within the Bricktown core – there is only so much street afterall. Working from the assumption that they are a premium, that premium can either go to (1) those that showed up first (or those that are willing to circle around the block 10 times later in the evening) or (2) they can go to those that are willing to pay.
It’s fine to question the consultants logic on the employee assumption, but we also have quite a bit of anecdotal evidence that employees are grabbing the meters in the mid-afternoon and are then using them until midnight or later. The numbers are there to back that up. Its not the sort of behavior that makes Bricktown inviting to visitors. Employers should be encouraging their employees to park further out.
I am so opposed to the parking situation in brick town and downtown okc park area. My wife and I are on a limited social security check and have used the park and canal for our walking and exercise . Now we can not afford 10 dollars a day to park and now the new meters downtown at the park are crazy. If we walk fast and do not enjoy the park at all , it still coust us 1.50 a day. Our taxes helped pay for the park and bricktown, yet they are not setup for the lower paid families or retired people. Greed has taken over Oklahoma . When a game is going on, they even charge for the back lover area east of bricktown and in the bass pro parking area. So if you can’t afford to park anywhere, you are banned from going downtown.What’s our country coming to???
Wow…without a doubt, you have some of the best insight as it relates to parking in Bricktown. The questions you asked are right on, now….we need answers.