LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As questions continue to swirl from businesses and customers about the state of parking in the Arts District in Downtown Las Vegas, city officials met with locals to discuss updates, ideas and possible solutions on Tuesday night.
Work is continuing on the highly anticipated Arts District parking garage at Casino Center and Utah, but — while it's set to open later this year — it's not answering all of the questions from locals about parking in the Arts District.
WATCH| Guy Tannenbaum speaks to an owner in the Arts District about parking rate increases
Many locals told City of Las Vegas staff on Tuesday night that their main concern is how recent parking rate increases are impacting small businesses and the people that support them.
Las Vegas native Erik Amblad owns and operates Elm Leaf Creative Acting Studio, and tells Channel 13 he's worked in the Arts District since 2004.
"The greatest example that I have had of why I love my city is the Arts District," Amblad said. "I've invested my time and my love into this city, and the city seems to have been that way with us, however the latest developments have put us at a breaking point to where we no longer seem to be in partnership, it seems like we're in competition — that's not the spirit of the Arts District, and that's not the spirit of Las Vegas."
Last October, the city bumped up its parking rates downtown by a dollar an hour, which means a meter will run you $2 to $4 an hour, and a surface lot will run you $2 to $6 an hour — it's the first time the city adjusted its parking rates since 2019.
WATCH | Here's a breakdown of the price increases:
While it may not sound like much on the surface, on Tuesday night, many Arts District residents, businesses and customers all agreed those costs add up over time, especially as the area continues to grow.
"Everything that the city has done — including this meeting that we're having today seems to have been reactive instead of proactive," Amblad said. "I am a small cog in a beautiful machine, but I worry — with the way things have been operating in the last few years, especially the last few months — that things are going to stall, break or even disappear."
Late last year, the city also proposed adding more meters in the Arts District north of Charleston, but Las Vegas Ward 3 City Councilwoman Olivia Diaz told Channel 13 on Tuesday they decided to hold off on the changes after substantial public outcry.
"We definitely then knew that we needed to sit down with our community, hear from them, put pause on everything that we were about to deploy, and just hear from our residents, workers and business owners," Diaz said. "The Arts District is such an awesome bright spot in our city. Everybody has a love and a desire to be a part of that community, that we would be remiss if we didn't check in and hear them out — what was upsetting to them and what we need to be conscientious about."
Diaz also said public feedback resulted in city staff recently updating Arts District parking meters to better display the Arts District's free "lunch hour" parking program, which gives customers free parking in the Arts District from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
"As a result of having this open line of communication with the community, it was voiced to me that we didn't make it known, we didn't have it put in the meter, people weren't informed, and we've pivoted and changed — now that meter will not charge anyone during that lunch sweet spot of free parking," Diaz said. "These are the types of wins that I want to see coming from this meeting — reanalyzing as a city the position we're in, what's the best foot forward based on the community and what we think is going to be the best outcome for the most."
More than a hundred people turned out for Tuesday night's meeting, which Erik Amblad says shows how much this issue means to people who live, work and play in the Arts District.
"What you see today is just how many people believe in the Arts District, believe in its future, take so much pride in the fact that this is who we are," Amblad said. "My hope is that everyone at the city can see this, and actually does something productive with us."
No decisions or changes to parking in the Arts District were made at Tuesday night's meeting — City of Las Vegas staff tells Channel 13 they're planning to take the feedback and evaluate it, then hold another public meeting in the near future to share their findings.
Plus, city staff says they're still encouraging folks to share public comments with their thoughts on Arts District parking online, which you can do by clicking here.
