Board nixes special bike parking spots

Off the Wire
Biker Rights Issues
By Bob Thaxton
The Gazette-Enterprise

SEGUIN — Motorcycle riders won’t get any specially designated parking spaces in downtown Seguin after the Main Street Advisory Board, in its monthly meeting Monday evening, turned down a request to allow special parking for motorcycles on weekends and after 5:30 p.m. on weekdays.

Main Street Director Mary Jo Filip explained that The Ticket Sports Bar & Grill at 204 S. Austin “has a number of motorcycle patrons” and has been using traffic cones to reserve two vehicle parking spaces for motorcycles.

Blocking off parking spaces with cones has drawn complaints from adjacent businesses, and Filip said she had informed management of The Ticket that the practice could not continue.

However, it could be allowed when the adjacent businesses are not open.

“We really don’t care after 5:30,” Filip said she was told. She also mentioned discussing the situation with the police chief and the city attorney.

After further discussion, board member Matt Chase made a motion to deny the request for motorcycle parking, and his motion was approved unanimously by the board.

On another issue concerning parking, Filip told the board that the two-hour parking restriction in the 300 and 400 blocks of North Austin Street had been implemented on a six-month trial basis and the six months expired March 31.

Extending the restriction will be considered by the City Council at its next meeting on Tuesday, April 20.

“The recommendation is to let it expire,” Filip said, and the board agreed.

In other business Monday evening, the board discussed prioritizing its goals for 2010 drafted during the annual workshop meeting held March 6.

“We need to go to council to make a budget request,” Filip said.

At its workshop, the board agreed to request $20,000 from hotel/motel occupancy taxes.

Of that amount, $15,000 will be allocated for grants to businesses that restore historic facades on their buildings and $5,000 will be budgeted for another historic mural downtown.

Earlier in the meeting, the Mural Committee reported that several artists had been interviewed and the committee expects to interview a few more artists before making its selection.

Filip said an artist needs to be selected and a conceptual drawing of the mural prepared before the board submits its budget request to the City Council.

The board also will be seeking $25,000 to $75,000 for a professionally prepared plan for downtown parking and traffic.

Other goals identified at the board’s workshop do not involve immediate expenditures but could become part of future budget requests.

For example, board members have expressed interest in finding possible ways to create a downtown development organization that would buy and renovate vacant buildings in the Downtown Historic District and then put the buildings up for sale.

On other topics, the board agreed to have the Texas Main Street Program conduct a review of the city’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan, Town Center Section, and the board voted to send a letter to the Seguin-Guadalupe County Public Library board communicating the Main Street board’s support for a future library location downtown.

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