Increased parking fines, more no-parking signs and strictly enforced tow-away zones on the streets surrounding TCU have produced mixed opinions among neighbors about whether parking problems have improved.

In a meeting last week at the Dee J. Kelly Alumni and Visitors Center, residents of the neighborhoods around TCU voiced their concerns about parking and discussed whether they thought the changes made last semester were producing positive results.

“What you all have done has been a miracle,” said Marsha Cowdin, president of the Frisco Heights Neighborhood Association. “It’s safer to drive and it really made a huge difference in our neighborhood.”

Fort Worth police officer Jamie Johnson said the increased fines and enforcement have been a step in the right direction.

“It has been effective with its intended goal to provide access to neighborhoods for emergency vehicles,” he said.

Last semester, 30 cars were towed and almost $30,000 in fines for illegal parking around TCU was issued in October, the first full month after the higher fines and tow-away enforcement increased, Johnson said.

Some residents complained that they could not park on the street in front of their houses. To solve the problem, Fort Worth is considering a new residential parking permit plan that would enable only residents to park on the streets that are currently no-parking zones.

“I think it would make residents happy, but I don’t think it would help the student situation very much,” Johnson said.

A permit parking plan may cause more problems because having more cars on the street could make it difficult for emergency vehicles to drive through the neighborhoods, Johnson said.The plan is being researched so the city can find out if it would be a positive solution, he said.

Some students say a shortage of campus parking forces students to fight for spots or park illegally, said Lauren Allen, a junior accounting and finance major.

“It just seems irrational to take away even more parking and then punish students with outrageous tickets,” she said.

Further discussion of parking problems in the TCU area will take place at 10 a.m. today at City Hall during the meeting of the Fort Worth City Council Capital Improvement and Infrastructure Committee.

Quick Facts
City to discuss parking

• The City Council Capital Improvement and Infrastructure committee will discuss parking in the TCU area
• When: 10 a.m. today
• Where: City Hall, 1000 Throckmorton St.