This is going to hurt Washington Ave (Houston: construction, tax)

[Schumacher713]

http://houston.culturemap.com/news/c...ed-a-test-run/

2 dollars an hour is really high. Washington is already hurting.

[Lost_In_Translation]

$2/hr is excessive, just leave it at $1/hr. Washington is not "that" popular.

[jimmyev]

If urban planners should have learned anything from most American cities it's the simple fact that pay parking destroys urban businesses and encourages suburban growth. There is a reason no department stores are left in downtown Houston, yet they thrive in uptown. Parking. But I think Houston is smarter than this, and their ultimate goal is to purposefully drive the businesses off of Washington Avenue because they're considered a 'nuisance.' If the businesses relocate out towards the western suburbs, they'll still be in Houston city limits and Houston will still reap their tax revenue.

[14Bricks]

Washington is already dying, this will only put the nail in the coffin

[Dopo]

Just wondering.... is there ANY place in any suburb where people have to pay to park in the street?

[Mr. Krinkle]

Washington Ave. is not a suburb.

[DJboutit]

$2 a hr to park on a super busy street where there is a good chance a drunk driver will smash into your car make it 50 to 75 cents a hr

[philopower]

How is washington already dying? I see a ton of people there all the time.

[PedroMartinez]

If you've lived in Houston for very long, one thing you know is that the entertainment districts (in regards to bars and nightlife) are very nomadic. Washington might be the hot spot now (and I've read other people's opinions that it is already on the decline), but if Houston sticks to its history, there will be a new hot spot in the near future.

I was really hoping that when the bars and clubs in downtown were heating up that they would stick. Some people blame the downtown construction for its demise. I do agree that the construction occurred at the worst possible time, but I can't come to the absolute conclusion that if not for the construction it would have remained.

IMHO, Houston hot spots are determined by trend setters who are always looking for the next new cool place to be, and the crowd follows.

I hope that Houston eventually establishes a permanent night life district, but I don't think it will be Washington, and it's my belief that this new parking scheme will drive it off faster.

[glorplaxy]

If you think Washington is dead/dying then you obviously weren't around before all of those lame bars even existed (it was not all that long ago).