“Make your ego porous. Will is of little importance, complaining is nothing, fame is nothing. Openness, patience, receptivity, solitude is everything.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke
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I now have my six seconds of fame. Thursday after Art Club, we were walking down the street on the square, and reporter Gabriel Roxas was interviewing people about the proposed parking garage and the parking problem on the square. The other girls had to scurry back for their workshop, but I stayed to voice my opinion.
I was one of the many residents who had gone to the city council meeting last year to oppose the location of the previous proposal. So, I’m glad I had my six seconds. There are a LOT of people who say that the shop owners and historic district residents do not want any change and do not want a parking garage. That is the furthest thing from the truth. There were other locations proposed, but the one the council chose was the worst location, and it was an all or nothing proposal. So, it was back to the drawing board.
I’m glad that my opinion was heard then, and now. I sure hope it works out this time. Here’s my six seconds of fame.
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McKINNEY (CBS11) – After voters rejected a parking garage in downtown McKinney more than a year ago, the city council has finally approved a plan it hopes will solve chronic parking problems without alienating the people trying to preserve the historic community.
With the popular downtown square just a few blocks away, the proposed site is tucked off to the side enough to be out of the way.
But at five stories tall, it’s not going to go unnoticed, so the question is, will people embrace this as the solution to what most everyone agrees is a serious problem.
Like a lot of downtown shoppers, Anne Davidoff knows she better get back to her car fast before her three-hour time limit expires and she gets another parking ticket.
“I am spending my time not enjoying shopping, worrying to death about when the hell I have to go get my car and try to find a place to move it, so I can park,” Davidoff said.
This has been a problem for years. But in 2015 voters like Toni Andrukaitis rejected a bond proposal to build a downtown garage. The latest proposal approved by council has the city leasing the garage from the property owner, a payment system that doesn’t require a popular vote.
“It’s like, oh the people on the square don’t want… they don’t want a parking garage. Oh yes they do. They just don’t want a monstrosity there,” Andrukaitis said.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, and I think frustration may not be the right word although it is a word that comes to mind from time to time,” outgoing Mayor Brian Loughmiller said.
Mayor Loughmiller tells CBS11 he’s confident the new structure can be built in a way that will not interfere with the aesthetics of the historic downtown district
“I said, well you know I’ve got 89 days left. Can you build this in 89 days? You know so I could see it, so it’s an important project,” Loughmiller said.
The design isn’t finished, but the mayor insists the area will have to find a parking solution, or many may simply choose to stop coming downtown.
“There are places to shop in Dallas. There are antique malls. We go to Waxahachie. We go to Fort Worth. We don’t have to put up with this,” Davidoff said.
The city has 30 days to reach a lease agreement with the developers. If that goes through, the plan is to begin construction sometime this spring.
Gabriel Roxas
Gabriel Roxas joined CBS 11 in December 2014. Gabriel grew up in Virginia Beach and received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California, where he attended both the Marshall School of Business and the School of Cinematic A…
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