MATTHEWS, N.C. (WBTV) - A dispute between CSX Railway and the Town of Matthews has put the future of hundreds of free parking spaces in downtown jeopardy.
According to the Town of Matthews and a statement from CSX Rail, CSX recently received an offer from a third party to lease the property where the parking spots are currently located along the roadway in downtown Matthews. In a statement, CSX said:
"We can confirm that CSX received an unsolicited offer from a third-party to lease the subject property that included better liability and indemnity protection for CSX. While discussing the new offer with the Town of Matthews, CSX was unable to reach a mutually beneficial agreement."
Town officials, including Town Manager Beck Hawke, said the rail company told the town that they would need to pay $130,000 a year to keep the spots as they currently are.
Previously the town had paid $800 a year to lease the land.
"When the numbers were coming in from CSX that were a 16,000% increase over what we've been paying," Manager Hawke said, "They [Board of Commissioners] said that this is just not a good use of taxpayer dollars. Is there a way for us to pivot and provide other free options that we can also have longer term stable agreements with, that people can count on, so that we're not subject to the whims of a company that doesn't need the money, but is choosing to try to elect this option?"
The board voted 7-0 to not pay $130,000 and to not create paid parking in the town.
"It was 7-0, without hesitation for us to follow the path that we're now following," Manager Hawke said. "There is zero interest in having paid parking in downtown Matthews and the board intends to follow every reasonable course of action to try to prevent that from ever coming to fruition."
They have been working to find alternative parking solutions, including negotiating with nearby businesses to provide additional free parking spaces.
As of the writing of this article, Matthews had arranged about 40 new free parking spots with another 50 to be added within a week.
Manager Hawke said the long term plan is to create enough new spaces to offset the loss of any free parking caused by this situation.
"What we're doing is investing our dollars and activating some 35 new spaces on North Fremont Street, which helps support that side of Trade Street," Manager Hawke said. "And then we've got 48 spaces that will be open by the end of next week, behind White Duck Taco, which is just down Charles Street. And so from that perspective, maybe it's a different block, or maybe it's walking in a different direction than you used to always be able to but it's still free, and it's still safe and it's still accessible...We hope to be able to win the fight with CSX and keep the existing spaces free, which, at the end of the day, would just be good for everybody, but regardless of how it plays out with CSX, then there are always free, plentiful options for people down downtown."
The future of the parking spaces remains uncertain, as CSX has not publicly disclosed its plans for the property.
The town is urging CSX to reconsider its decision and work toward a solution that benefits both parties.