Paid public parking lots appear in Fresno’s Tower District. Who’s making money?
Paid parking has come to the Tower District.
Over the past week, two lots have transitioned to paid “public parking,” which residents would have noticed by the signage.
One, attached to a pole outside of Detention Billiards on Olive Avenue, has a large “P” and an arrow pointing toward the lot’s entrance.
There, another sign post makes it clear: “All vehicles, must scan to park” and “violators may be fined, immobilized or towed.”
Similar signage is posted at a mostly unsued lot on Wishon Avenue, adjacent to Dyson Janzen Architects near a strip of businesses that includes Goldstein’s Mortuary & Delicatessen, Tower Yoga and others.
Throughout the lot, there are several pylons with QR codes users scan for payment.
Fees at the so-called Dyson Lot are $1.50 an hour for up to four hours, according to the QR-code link.
Fees at the Detention Billiards lot are considerably higher. They range from $8 an hour to $20 for three hours, though patrons of the pool hall can receive a validation code.
What’s behind the change?
Photos of the lots have been circulating on social media and have some residents worried the change will lead to increases in traffic in the surrounding neighborhoods as drivers look for free parking.
To be clear: These are not city-run parking lots and don’t reflect any change at the municipal level.
According to the signage, these new public lots are being operated by Slice Parking, a third-party service that “helps turn unused parking spaces into new revenue.” That’s according to the website for the “smart parking management platform,” which works with municipalities and also business owners, churches and nonprofits.
The name is a play on words. As in: “Are you ready to get your SLICE of the parking pie?”
It is unclear if the company is working with any other parking lots in Fresno. A message to the company was not immediately returned.
The city has seen some changes in parking operations since it ended its contract with ACE Parking earlier this year. And it has added parking restrictions in the Tower District in the past, though that represents only a few dozen spaces in and along the Olive Avenue corridor, and the city said it had no plans to install meters or charge for parking in the area.
For now, street parking outside both Detention Billiards and Goldstein’s is free, but capped at two hours from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Sundays.
Parking at the city-owned lot behind the Tower Theatre continues to be free for daily use, though a portion is withheld for the theater to use as VIP parking during events.
