I must give credit to Mark for the headline – but it fits.
The Village of New Braunfelds, TX, began a program of parking enforcement in the downtown area. They put a two hour restriction on parking. In the three months since the restriction has been in force, only one ticket has been written. Mark’s reference to those famous wives that follow rules without question may be apropos. Read the article here.
OK there have been a few warnings issued, but only one ticket. There have also been no complaints.
One ticket, few complaints. I’m not focused on the way these Texans follow instructions, I am more concerned about the city’s ability to enforce their rules.
JVH
2 Responses
New Braunfels downtown is crammed with pest control businesses and title companies. Seldom does one need more than two hours to conclude a transaction in our business center. The bars and clubs don’t get rolling until after 8-5 hours.
Years ago, we had a meter maid who gathered fewer dollars each day than her amount of pay. The meters were sold (think ‘lamps’) to the public. Revenue spike!
Well John, this is a tough issue. The Airport has mlloiins of dollars in debt service to cover for their parking structures. The off-airport parking lots only exist because the airport is there. The added traffic on airport commercial roads from the constant flow of off-airport parking shuttle vans takes a toll on traffic and roads. The off-airport lots have costs to deal with, but not nearly the size of the costs that airports have to bear. The parking space is a supply and demand item, particularly at an airport. Parking revenues are typically the single largest source of revenue at any airport of size. That is important to protect. The off-airport business is no different than any other business in that their costs to operate dictate the rate they need to charge the end user in order to remain solvent. Bottom line is that the off-aiport parking lots provide a needed asset (parking) that saves the airport from dedicating more land and debt to build more parking. But, the costs of having users of airport roads and infrastructure need to be covered and having these costs covered by the user is the only fair way of spreading the costs.