Mayor: Too Many Fees at Houston Public Parks

At a recent city council meeting, Mayor John Whitmire decried ever-expanding fees and costs to the public to go to public parks, and called out Memorial Park by name.

[@getplaning]

I have been a resident of Houston for a long time. In the last three years, the city absolutely ruined Memorial Park. Parking lots, more roads, and parking meters everywhere.

[@brandonhallam51]

Damn thats sad to hear

[@AlldatJazz-rw9wy]

Turner did all that to line their pockets. Turner needs to be investigated because he was doing a lot of crooked stuff, and giving his friends jobs and contracts is just the beginning.

[@Lionhearted128]

I agree, it is annoying. We should be able to park for fee. My property tax bill was 7k. I should be able to park free anywhere in the city.

[@jaymanilla289]

abolish property tax

[@ju4121]

Your property tax was 7000,000.😮😮. Your house is a whole zip code?

[@Lionhearted128]

@@ju4121 you know what i meant $7000

[@miguelcastro0666]

​@Lionhearted128 nah..we didn't

[@danasmith858]

So how many vagrants do you want parked around you, How many illegals do you want on your street? Parked living in their cars or motorhomes?

[@StevenTanner-oh2ef]

Public parks are paid for with tax dollars so why are taxpayers being charged twice to use park

[@AlldatJazz-rw9wy]

Because turner was lining his pockets.

[@Big_Island_Boi]

Because the City was blowing that tax money for decades on OTHER hand outs... like growing the City bureaucracy... and NOT maintaining or improving the parks with ANY of that tax money... so a 3rd party / non-profit / NGO had to step in to take over its operation.

[@381delirius]

You can still use the park for free. It only cost extra to bring your car there too.

[@BlackFemaleAnd50]

So people living in their cars don't take over the park. Be careful what you wish for.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

From my perspective, it's pretty weird to pay to do or use something in a public park.

[@marcoolvera2801]

you shouldn't have to pay to park!!! Whitmire is good for this city!

[@381delirius]

We shouldn't keep subsidizing cars, especially when Houston's debt is growing.

[@newtrollaccount384]

He sounds like a good mayor. 👍

[@Just-yl5fo]

The fools can't limit your 1st amendment right of being able to photograph and video in a public place on public property.

[@willieverusethis]

Well, yes they can, if you are a Hollywood production company monopolizing the park to make a profit on a movie, or even just a wedding photographer who won't let people walk past a certain spot.

[@AT-zl6dk]

I agree and all the town centers garages use to be free and midtown. It’s ridiculous how much Houston has changed asking for money to park for 2+ hours

[@AlldatJazz-rw9wy]

That was the crooked mayor.

[@mia1shooter]

parking fees are scams

[@gasparma2316]

Exactly! I hate those parking meters n felt I shouldn’t have to pay

[@KB-ke3fi]

I wonder if the previous Mayor Turner got his 10% out of those fees? Bet he did, and all his family and cousins and friends on the public parks board...like the water department.

[@glenngallegos]

Parking in downtown Houston, free on Sundays. Parking at Buffalo Bayou, fees on Sundays. That's what I want to do, pay taxes so I can pay more for parking. 🤔

[@bradleydawson9043]

Oh sure, we should subsidize public storage of private vehicles? We should have NO free parking and have free bus fare instead. Close Memorial park to car traffic completely. Replace with trams. Design our public spaces for people not cars.

[@asiajohns26]

Most of us park on the street anyway, lose the meters. Let us enjoy the little things in life for free…

[@honeztearthling987]

I agree with the Mayor. He also needs to do something about the zoo fees which have sky rocketted as well as Tolls that people have to pay for to get to the city.

[@381delirius]

People can still drive into the city and avoid the tolls.

[@grantw5939]

The parking is so cheap I doubt it covers the cost of enforcement and operating the meters. They might as well get rid of them. Would also reduce parking spillover into nearby neighborhoods.

[@riska521]

They added a surcharge on our dmv registrations so everyone could have free parking at all state parks and beaches. Only problem now is unless u get there really really early, there is no longer any parking available

[@texan176]

Great job by the mayor on this. He needs to bust up and dissolve all of the non profits that are running what once was both owned and operated by the city. The Houston Zoo is the first one he needs to target. It was city owned/operated and free for all until the 1980s. Now they not only charge admission but they take in millions from sponsors who get to put their names on exhibits. Too much bureaucracy and too over staffed is the name of the game. The mayor also needs to rip out all of the bike lanes that are rarely used in downtown and covert them back to additional lanes for motor vehicles on busy streets. City government lost its mind accommodating 0.0001% of bike users at the expense of the 99.9999% of drivers. On top of it the bike riders refuse to follow the law and stop for red lights or yield when required to do so.

[@scorpionoir4952]

I occasionally run at Memorial park and I pay the $2 fee to park for up to 4 or 5 hours and I don't have much of an issue with the fee because I am not there that often but for people who use the park regularly, it will put a dent in their wallet. We live in an economy where the prices for everything is rising and we are being nickel and dimed from every angle. If they alleviate this fee it would be nice but it may also mean that people will just take up space at the park doing nothing. At least if you are paying to park you are there with a purpose and people who don't have a purpose may not willing to pay just to lolly gag.

[@relaxingkaty]

Hope toll ways get rid of tolls

[@preciousowusu7743]

Ridiculous.

[@willieverusethis]

Great ideas. The Mayor just needs to make sure to pay for these changes, so that the parks can continue to be maintained.

[@BlackFemaleAnd50]

Okay. Remove the fees and the homeless will be living in their cars there. Those fees keep parking spaces available for people who come to walk/run. I once lived in my car for 8 months, so I understand what it's like to not have a place to stay. But making the parking free will ruin Memorial Park. METRO buses don't require you to pay anymore, so the homeless have started taking over the buses. Deal with the housing crisis first!

[@danasmith858]

It's just a way of keeping the riff Raff down to a minimum,

[@MikeBTV]

It cost $250 a day to take pictures there as a photographer. Thats too damn much

[@glenngallegos]

I was just speaking with my wife about that. The fees are insane for a photo shoot.

[@theseventhgeneration6910]

OMG Stacy will never have to worry about getting hit by a car or getting lost in the woods.

[@alex772350]

Charge business n homeowners for those fees 😮

[@WCghost05]

Business? No problema we will add it to product

[@WakandaleezaRazz]

@@WCghost05what product Carlitos it’s a park 😭

[@alex772350]

@@WCghost05 🤣 I was being sarcastic

[@Dark_Child]

Yes, the parking fee are a joke but please ensure that the photographers are not blocking the paths with photo shoots. They had one guy with a whole love seat on the path shooting photos giving everyone the side eye in effort to keep them out of his photos.

[@stevelacombe5291]

That’s just plain rudeness.

[@ronnie9953]

Charge the public to pay for something you took the public’s money to build 😂😂😂 wow

[@dark12ain]

Ive never been to memorial park because of the paying.

[@wandagordon3888]

I've never been to that park, thanks goodness I don't have to pay toll, eithe😢

[@dark12ain]

@@wandagordon3888 yeah when I was new to Houston I didn't even know what a toll road was my first time hearing of it and I still haven't paid them damn tolls that was 7+ years ago 😅

[@dmunoz5999]

Good!! I had no idea they were charging for parking!!

[@Crazy-Horse-Tx.]

Awesome Mayor !

[@jcup9313]

yellow man gets it

[@benready2903]

THANK YOU LORD for our new MAYOR J. Whitmire

[@gotyesomeonyouusetoknow]

We were only paying because Silvester turners camp was pocketing the money. 😅

[@gotyesomeonyouusetoknow]

Dam 👍 right why should we pay at the park to park ?