As Dallas continues to expand, the most valuable real estate is not necessarily the villa on your street or the penthouse apartment, but the curb. Yes, the curb.
The curb is no longer just for parking your car. There are scooters, rideshares, delivery services and even restaurant seating, all with worthy causes, vying for spots on the road. It’s already happening in entertainment districts like Deep Ellum and Bishop Arts.
That’s why it’s reassuring that city officials want to lay down some guidelines for on-street parking. The comprehensive plan breaks down the current uses of the curb in various neighborhoods. It outlines short-term solutions such as changing parking time limits in front of certain businesses and updating parking meters, and long-term solutions like developing on-street charging stations for EVs and an app where drivers can see open parking spots.
Take a look at the plan on the city’s website and consider attending a virtual meeting to learn more on Aug. 15 or give feedback on different sections via the online form through August 25. The Dallas City Council will vote on the plan in October.
This plan seeks to change parking time restrictions in entertainment districts. The goal is to have one or two parking spots open along every block, so businesses appear inviting to new customers. So if 85% or more parking spots are occupied throughout the day in a certain neighborhood, the city plans to shorten parking time limits in front of specific businesses. If the plan only targets strategic areas that currently suffer from congestion, we think these evidence-based time restrictions on parking can create more turnover and boost local businesses.
The plan rightly assesses that downtown Dallas has an overabundance of valets, often marketed as a way for drivers to outsource the job of finding parking in areas where the policy is confusing. The city hopes to simplify on-street parking with the recommendation of having one valet stand in the center of a block, serving multiple businesses, in order to reduce traffic disruption caused by valet parking.
In general, the plan seeks to look at on-street parking strategically to plan how to balance the needs of different neighborhoods. In some areas, this doesn’t mean parking time restrictions, but instead “activating” the curb by using it for small businesses like food trucks or social space like restaurant seating. In mixed-use residential areas, the plan has guidelines for how much priority residents should get compared to customers coming to the area.
Beyond these short-term solutions related to optimizing curb space, technological innovations like the app to track open parking spots and EV charging stations will likely not be implemented anytime soon.
But it’s still encouraging that the city is thinking more broadly about this topic. Our curbs can serve us better if we treat them as the valuable space they are.
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