You’ll probably have to pay to park in Wichita’s Old Town after all. Here’s why

Visitors to Old Town will likely have to start paying for parking starting this summer.

After the Wichita City Council established paid parking for most of downtown in December, several Old Town building owners had sought to install an extra 2% sales tax to pay for parking in the area instead of asking visitors to pay when they park.

But the council declined Tuesday to set a public hearing to establish the tax district, triggering implementation of $1 an hour parking. Parking would be free for the first 15 minutes someone is parked in a spot.

Council members were concerned when Assistant City Manager Troy Anderson said the petition submitted by Old Town property owners to establish the tax district struck out language allowing the city to disband the tax district.

“Had it been pointed out by the petitioners instead of hidden, that would have been much more transparent,” Mayor Lily Wu said.

The extra statutory language would have also put the petition in a legal grey area with the state, which has to consider approving the tax district after the council.

“The future council that may see this not working effectively, they may want to dissolve it, wouldn’t be able to, which it doesn’t sound like legally that might work anyway,” council member Brandon Johnson said.

Council member Maggie Ballard, who represents the area, also pointed out that the tax district would not be able to capture liquor sales by Old Town’s many bars and nightclubs because of state regulations.

That means the city would not break even on maintaining and enforcing parking in the district, she said.

“The problem is the numbers just don’t work. I don’t want to get us in a position right out of the gate knowing it’s not going to work. All of this could go away by just doing paid parking,” Ballard said.

“This is getting way too complicated for a really simple issue.”

Council members voted 4-3 to not have a public hearing on the proposal, with Dalton Glasscock, J.V. Johnston and Becky Tuttle voting in favor of setting a public hearing.

Old Town Association disappointed

Members of the Old Town Association, who crafted the petition and paid $5,000 to file the application for a community improvement district with the city, said they’re disappointed to not even be able to receive a hearing on the matter.

“I think we were surprised that negotiations and compromise was shut down so quickly today, so that we can’t further the discussion around what a CID looks like and what it needs to include,” board member Rachel Thomas-Murphy said.

The board members have not decided yet what their next step could be after the council’s vote.

Thomas-Murphy said business owners in the area are worried about what this may mean for them when visitors have to begin to pay for parking directly.

“It’s another obstruction between our consumers and ourselves,” she said. “We listened to the Wichita community, and heard them when they said, ‘This is not a good idea. I’m not coming downtown if there’s paid parking.’ So, we’re very concerned about what it will be like this summer when this parking plan is enacted.”’

Paid parking enforcement to start in July

The city is expected to begin fully enforcing paid parking in July.

The city has created some carve-outs for free parking under its plan for paid parking, including handicap accessible parking and loading and ride-share parking. Special events can also petition the city to adjust parking rates during certain time periods. The city lists the Old Town Farm and Art Market as an example, saying it could petition the city for free parking during its Saturday events.

Parking in Old Town was at the center of the debate late last year on implementing paid parking.

The city disclosed last year it lost $13.3 million over 25 years for not enforcing parking agreements made with area business owners.

This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 3:52 PM.