Arlington Enforces New Parking Rule, Tows Dozens Of Cars Parked In Neighborhoods Near AT&T Stadium
ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM) — Arlington had dozens of cars towed out of neighborhoods near AT&T Stadium Sunday, strictly enforcing a parking rule that was rolled out slowly during the 2018 football season.
Tow trucks lined up on streets west of the stadium during the 1st quarter of the Cowboys home opener. They towed any vehicle parked on the street, even if it belonged to residents.
Before halftime, police said at least 28 cars had been towed. According to an update provided to the city council earlier this year, only seven cars were towed from an area north of the stadium during the three months the rule was in place in 2018.
Intended to reduce congestion in residential areas during events, police can open up signs on select blocks to enforce the no parking zones when needed.
People who returned from the game to find their cars towed Sunday said they just parked in the same place they did during past seasons, including last year, unaware of the rule.
"The signage should be better," said Ashley Wade. "Just that one, it doesn't say anything about hours. It doesn't say any time. It doesn't have arrows that say between this area and this area, which it's like that all over the city of Dallas."
The signs in question include a crossed-out "P", above a picture of a car being towed. On some blocks they are only at each end, which some drivers said left them in question about the space in the middle of the block.
Sulma Caballero, who lives on one of the blocks where the rule was enforced, was happy to see it. Her driveway has been blocked during game days, and she said there was often only enough space for one lane of traffic to get down the road.
However, residents have to follow the same rule. Caballero and others found themselves squeezing their cars into each other's driveways Sunday to avoid the same fate as fans.
"Can we have a sticker, can we have a permit, can we have something, saying hey, we live here, without getting our car towed," she asked.
Police said they did go through the neighborhood early Sunday, trying to determine who owned cars parked on the street, in order to notify residents to move them before they were towed.
Car owners said they were being told it would cost them about $233 to get their cars back.
Some of them were calling 911 after the game when they discovered their cars were gone, because there was no posted information on what towing company to call.