Downtown parking may get a little scarcer, starting next week.

I just read over on Austinist that starting July 22nd (next Wednesday) the city is going to begin removing all the parking meters in the downtown area and replace them with Kiosks. They're planning to wrap this endeavor up by Thanksgiving, which means that in the short-term we may be be losing a good number of bicycle locking spots right where we need them the most.

The good news it that the City of Austin Bicycle and Pedestrian Program conducted a study earlier this year with the help of several citizen volunteers to mark out what parking would be lost with the removal of the meters, and where they needed to implement additional bicycle racks to increase the available amount of parking throughout downtown. They already have several HUNDRED racks available and ready for installation. They say that they'll roll out the installation of the racks in conjunction with the removal of the meters, but I expect a little bit of lag time between the two.

The City of Austin just posted a press release to their website which explains the upgrade, the timeline, and what benefits the kiosks will provide. They also mention that "two-wheeled vehicles, including motorcycles, mopeds and scooters will be allowed to park for free for up to 12 hours per day in parking areas at all City of Austin meters and pay stations." Talk about a boon for our motorized two-wheeled traffic, with environmental concerns being cited as the reason for the kindness. Wonder if they're going to do anything special for us, since (post-lunch at Chipotle notwithstanding) we typically produce NO emissions whatsoever.