FORT WORTH, Texas — On Fort Worth's Magnolia Avenue, you can find coffee, croissants, good company and even live music. But one thing you won't find are parking meters-- at least, for now.
"I just like walking up and down Magnolia, and always have," said Dennis Nowlin, who lives a few miles away. He's one of the many people who are drawn to the area on a daily basis.
"I love the intimacy, the quaintness," said Christina Marchese, who was enjoying the morning with Nowlin Thursday.
But with popularity comes people-- plenty of them. And like Nowlin and Marchese did Thursday, many of them come in cars.
"Most of the parking is full along the street, yes," Nowlin said. "And we came down here about 10:00 a.m. for coffee and I had to park on a side street already."
"Magnolia’s become this great destination which has led to an increase in parking demand," echoed Mike Brennan, who heads Near Southside, Inc. He says often cars park and stay all day. "You want to at least have the perception that there are a few parking spaces available."
Near Southside, Inc., commissioned a parking study this year which recommended, among other things, installing parking meters on Magnolia Avenue, like we now see in the West 7th Street area.
"I would not like it," said attorney Wade Barrow, whose office is off Magnolia.
"One of the reasons I came here was there was plenty of free parking," Barrow said. "It's going to be a problem. It's going to hurt local businesses in this area."
Brennan said the side streets would still be free parking, should parking meters come to Magnolia. He adds that they're also looking into adding residential parking permits that would take effect during the nighttime hours, which would help with some of the side-street congestion residents are facing.
He also said they'd look to enact a "Parking Benefit District," in which revenue from the parking meters would stay in the neighborhood.
He says they're currently listening to stakeholders' concerns.
"It’s at the serious discussion point," Brennan said. "We’re diving into the details, getting their feedback."
And as the ideas float around, people will wait to see if they need to bring money to park on Magnolia.
"First thought was no meter," Nowlin said. "But thinking about it, it might actually serve a purpose."
Brennan said it would be next year before any changes, if any would happen.