Audio By Carbonatix
The
Dallas
City Council will
consider
raising
the
fee
drivers pay to
reclaim
towed cars
in November,
a proposal to
revise and update
valet parking regulations remains on the back burner. More about that after the jump.
But following a
rate increase approved in February for emergency wreckers,
the council’s Transportation and Environment Committee yesterday told the
Public Works and Transportation
department that, yeah, they’re fine with increasing the
private-property
tow rate
for standard passenger vehicles
by
27 percent.
(Here’s the briefing for a recap of the recommendations and the reasons for ’em.) If green-lighted,
the fine
will be
upped from
$95 to $121. Still, council members insist, the
anticipated
fee
is
lower than tow rates in other
major
Texas cities, including Fort Worth.
Linda Koop, who says most of the tows in her district are vehicles left behind by drug dealers
at apartment complexes, says she wants the rate increase to edge out
predatory towers
who tack on
extra
fees
and
practice
other
unsavory
towing
tactics. For
any “bad towers”
skulking around City Hall,
Koop
made her point clear:
“For those of you in the audience, you know who you are,” she said. “We’re not going to tolerate it anymore.”
A task force
briefing on valet parking codes, which we touched on yesterday,
promoted paid valet as a time-saver and more “efficient” use of parking spaces. The
briefing also
reinforced that free
parking
required by the city
is bad,
because
it encourages vehicle-dominated transportation and “subsidizes” auto usage.
When PWT Associate Director John Brunk suggested paid parking would
encourage carpooling, council woman Angela Hunt said until Dallas
becomes a more “walkable” community, that’s a pipe dream.
Both Hunt, whose district contains 70 percent of valet services in Dallas — and
council member Carolyn Davis
dislike the idea of companies
using free parking spaces
for
paid
valet
near adjacent
residential areas. Streets clogged by drivers avoiding
valet and paid parking
could cause problems
that existed on Lower Greenville for years
.
“I don’t want these folks being pushed into my neighborhoods,”
said Hunt.
Expect a public meeting on the
subject sometime
within the next few months.
