A number of business owners from Tomball's Main Street were in attendance during last night's city council meeting to voice their opposition to the loss of parallel parking in Old Town Tomball.
On-street parallel parking was removed and a center turn lane was added due to a
Texas Department of Transportation project that overlaid portions of FM 2920, Business 249 and Main Street in September.
Francesca Garcia, owner of Birds of a Feather at 406 W. Main St., said the loss of on-street parking has not only decreased foot traffic around the shops during the past couple of weeks. She said the added turn lane has led to an overall speed increase along the road.
"We have lost our stop-and-shop [ability] due to the [removal of] parallel parking," she said. "So what does the city have in place to help us so that we don’t continue to lose any more revenue, as we have already lost revenue in the past two weeks?"
Garcia said business owners would like to see more signs along Main Street directing visitors to parking lots behind many of the shops. Under Tomball city ordinances, they are currently not allowed, she said.
"We know modifications and changes to the modifications don’t come quick, [but] we want to help with the process as much as we can," Garcia said. "We don’t want to come with complaints; we [want] to come with suggestions, but we need that dialogue to start happening."
Because the subject was not on the agenda during the meeting, council members were unable to discuss the matter. However, Tomball Mayor Gretchen Fagan said the city is already considering a number of options to help find alternate parking options for downtown visitors. The council is expected to discuss the matter during their Oct. 18 meeting.
Other items of note during Monday's meeting include:
- The city is considering the annexation of multiple parcels of land into Harris County Improvement District No. 17. The tract of land—located south of the city limits near Hwy. 249 and Holderrieth Road—is expected to be home to a new Harris County annex and new facility for Nabors Industries.
- The council approved on second reading a zoning request for Arclight Gaming, an indoor retail and entertainment facility, to open at 701 Main St. Owner Justin Cottle said Sept. 19 that the business will feature fantasy card games and tables for customers to play.
- Council members approved two contracts totaling $643,000 to make improvements to the city's wastewater treatment plants.
