The trendy area along West Seventh Street in Fort Worth is bustling with business but in some ways is a victim of its own success: too many customers and not enough parking.
The trendy area along West Seventh Street in Fort Worth is bustling with business but in some ways is a victim of its own success: too many customers and not enough parking.
"I've seen fights break out over it," said Pierson Vongphouthone, who lives a block away and rides a bicycle to get around. "Alcohol, parking and pride don't mix well."
There are five parking garages, but they're paid for and controlled by the original businesses that started here in the past decade — the five-block area now known as Crockett Row at West Seventh.
But then the bars started moving in nearby.
And that's when the real parking crunch started.
People can park in the garages for free as long as they immediately go to one of the businesses that pay for them. But if they're caught going to one of the nearby bars, their cars can be towed.
Max Holderby, general manager of Crockett Row, said the older businesses welcome the new ones but admits the shortage of parking is a challenge.
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"Some of these bars are among the highest volume bars in the state of Texas and some of them have zero parking," Holderby said. "There are things in the works to try to find ways to get more parking for those (businesses) that don't have any parking."
Holderby represents the businesses along Crockett Street between Foch Street and University Drive.
One possible solution is opening up the nearby parking lot at Farrington Field, owned by the Fort Worth Independent School District.
It has plenty of empty spots on most nights, but there's still no agreement for that.
