University of Arkansas Fayetteville - Razorback Yearbook (Fayetteville, AR)

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PAYERS PURSUE OTHER PARKING NEW PARKING REGULATIONS ON DICKSON STREET PUSH STUDENTS TO WALK the move to paid parking on — -■ m w ltentions, it met with more ' ontent, resistance and loss of business than any other preceding ty of Fayett eville ordinance. Dicksons restaurants in particular, ady strained by a sluggish economy, suffered from the effects of the Entertainment District Parking Plan. definitely has hurt our business. Not counting [Bikes, Blues, BBQ], sales are d own p ro bably 30 percent, but lunches are the eSt ' 8 ar Montes, manager of El Sancho Mexican Grill tequila Bar, said. 1 a mont h after the original parking plan was implemented, ules were amended to allow free parking from 2 a.m. to 2 p.m. y day. Thi s change was brought about in an effort to help recover Dicksons lost lunch crowd. t kind of helped, but normally the school year is our busiest ™e and our sales are nowhere near what they should be right now,” abi manager Tony Bounyaseng said. p i. ne 8 a ve economic impact on local establishments ® Coordinator Melissa Elmore was supportive of the plan. W ai o the money from parking is going to fund the Walton , entei s (WAC) community programs. They are also hoping to a new Peking deck in the future,” she said, ki d ' Pr ° 8ramS nc uded WAC initiatives to support local public in 1 arte ' 1 trough 12 grade schools, boost economic development P mote environmental programs such as the Illinois River Watershed Partnership. Restaurant managers tended to agree that some form of paid parking on Dickson Street might be necessary, but the current plan was far from acceptable. Cost to park for an hour on Dickson Street in Fayetteville: 30 % $1 decrease in sales for Dickson Street restaurants “Maybe if they stretched the free parking out a little bit longer — maybe ‘til three or four — the lunch sales would be better. Im pretty sure if they would even do something like a weekend deal and only charge Thursday, Friday and Saturday, then it wouldn’t be so bad,” Bounyaseng said. Patrons’ primary issue with the parking changes on Dickson Street seemed to be based more on principle than price. Parking was only 50 cents per hour from 2-5 p.m. during the week and from 2-6 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. After that, the cost increased to $ 1 per hour to park until 2 a.m.. “It’s just that I’ve never had to pay just to park on Dickson. Why should I have to pay now?” senior business major Mike Cotroneo, said. STORY BRANDIE ASH PAID PARKING ON DICKSON | STUDENT LIFE 1 9

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Finishing her journey up the hill, sophomore Jennifer Fritz heads to her next class. With the new parking fees, students resorted to walking to Dickson. PHOTO GARETH PATTERSON

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