COVID OVER: END TO PARKING SPACES FOR THE FAVORED

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

With COVID-19 behind us, the City of Brownsville has started to get things back to normal.

The mask requirement is gone, as are the safe distancing requirements. And also, unfortunately for the former mayor and a select number of favored downtown businesses, the parking spots reserved in front of their night clubs and restaurants. Instead, a new electronic parking system will be installed without the reserved spots.

Ever since COVID began, the city had allowed certain downtown businesses to reserve parking spaces adjacent to their doors, at first to carry out orders, but after the pandemic subsided, as private reserved parking spaces for the select few. It went so far as to have towing companies tow cars away from the spaces even if the business was closed.

According to city staff in the downtown historical district, the city is just waiting for the signage and hardware to replace the old meters and restricted parking spaces in front of Docici's on Adams – former mayor Trey Mendez's pizza and wine joint – and some other clubs like Terra's Urban Lounge, Kuyashi Raman, Main Street Deli, Library at Rioja's, and other businesses have already removed the restricted space covers on parking meters. (Mendez had two spaces for his business apart from the temporary delivery space, making it three. See sign at right.)

The changes will be part of the replacement of the old individual meters with the new electronic parking system already underway on Elizabeth and other major streets downtown.

But as late as last Friday, as a downtown resident pulled into a temporary parking space in front of Dodici's, a female employee told her she could not park there because it was limited to the business and for customers to pick up their orders.

Since the COVID restrictions were over, she called a passing patrol car and asked since she lived on the block whether she could temporarily park there to take some items to her home down the street without the fear of  Dodici employees having her car towed away, as she had seen some towed, even on days when the restaurant was closed.

She was told to get in touch with the city an she did. 

That's when she was told that the city's use of reserved parking spaces for selected businesses was over and that all the city was waiting was for new signage and electronic hardware to arrive to do away with the practice. Yes, she could park in any space if it was not occupied.

"Mendez (the former mayor) was the first to get the reserved spaces and is going to be the last to get rid of them," she said. "I guess it's the privilege of public office."