Parking meters go online in Fort Worth's West 7th District

Another change is coming to Fort Worth's busy Seventh Street District in hopes to ease congestion.

First, nearby roads went from two-way to one-way. Now, the city has installed parking meters with two hour limits which go online on Thursday. At least a few business owners are against the meters.

The new meters are supposed to solve a problem. But some say they're just creating one.

Business is good at Varsity Tavern. Manager Josh Revercomb hopes the parking meters just outside his bar don't scare people away from popping in for a drink.

With bars and restaurants on nearly every corner, the West Seventh Street neighborhood is one of the busiest spots in the city. But with too many vehicles on the streets, the city decided parking meters might help.

“To generate more turnover in the parking spaces. To make those parking spaces more available to visitors who are currently struggling to find parking spaces on the street,” said Fort Worth Assistant City Manager Fernando Costa.

From the hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., you'll pay to park. And like those in downtown, there's a two-hour limit. You can pay using a parking app.

"Most of the action actually occurs after 10 o'clock,” Costa said.

To make sure their employees don't have to feed the meter, bars in the area paid to allow them to park for free at nearby Farrington Field. The general public can park there, too. However, it will cost $5 on the weekends.

Eventually, the plan is to have golf cart shuttles, extra lighting and security on the weekends. But to have to park blocks away from the bars?

"No. It comes back to convenience,” said customer Debbie Steelman. “If I'm out, I don't want to have to worry about depending out on where you end up in this part of town. It can be a hassle. And to wait on shuttles? That's not convenient or realistic either."