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Parking Changes Coming to Rainey Street Area (Update)

Jessie Wang

Update: Parking meters in the Rainey Street District will start charging this morning. A $1 per hour parking cost will be applied and the schedule will be the same as downtown: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 8 a.m. to midnight Thursday and Friday, and 11 a.m. to midnight on Saturday. On Sundays parking in the Rainey Street area will be free.

The Rainy Street visitors can also park at the Mexican American Cultural Center. The parking fee will also be $1 per hour from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Saturday and early Sundays. A 5$ flat fee from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m will be applied in the parking lot and besides those three late night hours, Sunday will be free.

Original Post: Free parking in the Rainey Street District is getting harder to find.

On Thursday, the City of Austin is activating parking meters on eight streets in that area. The city says it’s necessary to ease congestion and to get workers and residents to make way for visitors. 

“That lack of turnover, once the district gets busy and the visitors are trying to come, you’ll find a lot of people circling around, trying to find spaces," says Leah Fillion, with the Austin Transportation Department. "By adding parking meters, it does kind of guarantee that turnover so that everyone has the opportunity to find a space.”

The city also has installed four pay stations for 125 parking spots at the Mexican American Cultural Center. A portion of that revenue will support the MACC.

Trey Shaar is an All Things Considered producer, reporter and host. Got a tip? Email him at tshaar@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @treyshaar.
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