ATLANTA — The last free parking lot in Atlanta’s Little Five Points neighborhood is coming to an end.
A permit was approved this week that will convert the parking lot to paid parking.
Many business owners fear this will drive away customers.
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Southern Star Tattoo has been a staple in Little Five Points for over a decade.
“It’s a real shame,” said Eric Thrice, owner of Southern Star Tattoo Channel 2’s Candace McCowan“None of the businesses here are big companies making tons of money. All of the businesses in this Little Five Points neighborhood are small businesses.”
He is one of many business owners upset about a coming change to the parking lot directly behind their businesses near Seminole Avenue.
The Atlanta City Council has approved a special use permit that will convert currently free parking into paid parking.
“It’s getting harder to park every day,” said Kelly Stocks of the Little Five Points Business Association.
The land is owned by eight separate owners.
Most of them were behind the effort to convert the land into paid parking.
One property owner told McCowan that making parking paid would help the land be better managed and not neglected.
Owners will be able to obtain free parking passes for their employees.
But some are concerned about the impact on customers.
“Right now, paid parking is already hurting us. There are neighborhoods very close by that don’t have paid parking, they don’t even have municipal parking meters, so we have to compete with them,” Kristen Goldberg said. “It’s definitely a deterrent to people.”
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Landowners told McCowan that price fixing was still ongoing.
But prices will probably be similar to other lots in the sector.
“We have a special vibe in Little Five Points. It’s like the people. We’ve been a very tight-knit neighborhood for a very long time,” Goldberg said.
“Somebody wants to make money off the backs of people here who are just trying to make money,” Thrice said.
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