Comments on: New Ideas on Parking

By: David

David — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 19:41:04 +0000

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???

By: A.J.

A.J. — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:59:18 +0000

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.

By: Steven

Steven — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:29:50 +0000

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.

By: Jess M.

Jess M. — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:25:51 +0000

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.

By: slackmeyer

slackmeyer — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 04:56:11 +0000

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?

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:16:32 +0000

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.

By: Jim

Jim — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:51:27 +0000

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????

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 22:34:39 +0000

“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.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:31:34 +0000

Those are fantastic questions….this is what journalism is all about, my friends.

By: Jim

Jim — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:38:06 +0000

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.