The Haltom United Business Alliance (HUBA) is calling for the elimination of parking mandates in Haltom City, Texas, as a strategy to revitalize declining urban areas and attract new businesses. This proposal comes amid a national conversation about the impact of parking requirements on urban development and safety, particularly in inner-city neighborhoods.
Joe Palmer, Communications Director for HUBA, suggests creating overlay districts along main corridors in the south and central areas of Haltom City to eliminate parking minimums. Palmer argues that this change could encourage developers and small business owners to invest in older properties, potentially reversing the trend of decline in these neighborhoods.
The proposal aligns with insights from Strong Towns, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating safe, livable, and financially strong neighborhoods. Strong Towns has highlighted the negative impacts of applying suburban design standards, including extensive parking requirements, to urban areas. Charles Marohn, an author for Strong Towns, critiques the common justification of safety for expanding parking, particularly around schools, arguing that such designs can actually create ‘doughnuts of desolation’ in urban neighborhoods.
Haltom City’s current parking mandates are seen as a significant obstacle to redevelopment. Potential investors often choose properties elsewhere when faced with the requirement to add what they perceive as unnecessary parking spaces to comply with outdated regulations.
The push for parking reform in Haltom City reflects a broader national trend. Strong Towns has worked with numerous communities to reduce or eliminate parking mandates and has launched a Parking Reform Map that now identifies over 1,400 US cities that have made some type of change to their parking requirements.
Haltom City, located between Dallas and Fort Worth in Tarrant County, is described as a diverse, majority working-class city with direct access to major highways. Despite its strategic location, several areas of Haltom City have experienced a decline in small businesses, including a once-thriving automotive industry. This decline is attributed in part to an outdated and restrictive use matrix that discourages new business and deters growth.
HUBA believes that eliminating parking mandates is just one of many ideas that should be considered by the City Council to help revitalize declining neighborhoods. The organization emphasizes the urgency of action, stating that ‘The time to act is now.’
The debate over parking reform in Haltom City highlights the broader challenges faced by many American cities as they grapple with outdated urban planning policies. As retail and office uses decline, attracting new businesses becomes increasingly critical for urban revitalization. The outcome of this discussion could have significant implications for Haltom City’s future development and potentially serve as a model for other cities facing similar challenges.
As cities across the country reconsider their approach to urban planning and development, the situation in Haltom City serves as a microcosm of the larger debate surrounding the role of parking in urban spaces. The decisions made here could influence not only the local economy but also contribute to the ongoing national conversation about creating more livable, sustainable urban environments.
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