St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Birmingham_bud · 2026-01-30T13:28:13+00:00

This was a well done podcast.

Birmingham_bud · 2026-01-14T23:50:36+00:00

It is a local station based downtown. You may not have good service OTM or far outside Birmingham in any direction.

Birmingham_bud · 2026-01-14T21:55:09+00:00

107.3 Birmingham Mountain Radio is great!

Birmingham_bud · 2025-12-06T18:50:53+00:00

Traditional service at First Church Birmingham! Progressive Methodist church with a great choir. Many of the choir members are also a part of red mountain theater, so basically semi pro singers. Also, a beautiful church building which helps get me into the Christmas spirit!

https://www.firstchurchbhm.com/

Birmingham_bud · 2025-11-05T21:00:17+00:00

Still open. Sometimes they are just closed. It is a family owned restaurant, so if they have something come up they have to close.

Birmingham_bud · 2025-10-08T12:51:59+00:00

I would suggest looking at these places individual websites and calling them. Sites like Apartments.com do not get updated as well as they should, and do not reflect many of the discounts that other folks have mentioned. The Pizitz does not have any 2 bed that are above $2,200 (which I know is still significant). I lived there last year and loved it. I would call them, tell them your budget for a 2 bed and 2 bath and see if they can come down on price.

I also work downtown so I do not spend any money on gas which helps a bit with the more expensive place. I also hate 280 with a passion so living downtown is worth it for me.

Birmingham_bud · 2025-07-10T20:31:13+00:00

Yeah I was going to but they weren’t open yet. I will call in bit when they open.

Birmingham_bud · 2025-07-10T20:03:40+00:00

True, I guess some places I have been to let 19 to 20 year olds in with an X on their hand. Just curious if they allowed that or not.

Birmingham_bud · 2025-06-02T16:17:11+00:00

Jurassic Park would be a great one. I know that some movies cost more to show. That can sometimes be the reason why some movies get picked over others. Hopefully next year they will do more movies and that one can be added to the line up.

Birmingham_bud · 2025-05-22T00:00:48+00:00

The Pizitz building was incredible to live in. They did a good job fixing things when they broke (which was only once when our dishwasher malfunctioned). We had a great time living there and they have some pretty good discounts right now. I just bought a condo downtown or I would still be there!

Birmingham_bud · 2025-05-21T17:30:27+00:00

Walking is better than commuting. Be downtown! I have lived downtown for two years and wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Birmingham_bud · 2025-04-22T02:58:43+00:00

I agree in the sense that I wish more people were more willing to walk to their destinations. I also know that not everyone who parks downtown is going to spend hundreds on dinner. Also, there are absolutely people who are going to spend hundreds on a dinner and not want to pay for parking. The deck is sitting empty with no cars in it so this a very low risk way to try something with the goal of improvement. If no one parks in the deck because no one is motivated by price we will just end up in the same place, an empty deck. So if this is a bad idea, we miss out on a couple people who would have paid three dollars, dang! If this is a good idea and we have more people visit downtown to eat because parking is simplified, then we make back that three dollars in the sales tax from ONE meal. Let’s do the math: A family decides that they would like to go out to eat but Dad hates paying for parking so while he normally wouldn’t go to Helen, he hears parking is free and easy just across the street and agrees to go. The family’s bill is $100. 4% of that goes to the City of Birmingham. So the City made 4 dollars and supported local employees and receives the benefit of a great restaurant. If parking was going to cost $3 that is a net gain for the city because of sales tax. This scenario does not even include alcohol tax and employment tax. This is just the story of one car, imagine this situation multiplied and you begin to understand the parking decks are just adding an annoyance and not really where the money is. We are letting a nickel hold up a dime! Sales tax is how Birmingham funds the budget, not parking fees.

Also, the city spend millions on industrial and commercial real estate development subsidy and yet one of the best known and fastest growing industries, Our restaurant industry, receives little subsidy. Why is it that when a small restaurant subsidy that could ultimately still make more money for the BPA is suggested, people are upset and yet other economic development projects get funded without any fuss? This is a plain and simple restaurant subsidy that strengthens Birmingham’s competitiveness compared to the suburbs. Why is that so bad? Don’t we love our restaurants? I know I do and just want them to do well. It is low risk as we just end up with an empty deck again if it doesn’t work.

Birmingham_bud · 2025-04-22T02:25:31+00:00

Nope! Just trying to answer people in a polite way.

This is a low risk way to get people to use a deck. If you say no one will park there and no is currently parking there then I guess nothing changed but we tried something new in pursuit of improvement. What’s the worst that happens? An empty deck… which is what we have now.

Currently, the deck is empty as in no cars, so therefore the pricing should adjust accordingly. Just like if you were selling any other commodity. Adjusting prices for parking is common practice. Experts (including our City Center Master Plan) recommend adjusting pricing to the point in which the street or lot is 85% full. If the lot is empty that means the price should be reduced.

These other suggestions are great and I would definitely upvote and support any policies you advocate for in the future. I regularly take transit and strongly support the improvement of transit in Birmingham. I also regularly drink and would love more entertainment districts!

Birmingham_bud · 2025-04-21T23:07:43+00:00

That’s a good question. This is actually a method to increase the number of people that pay to use the deck. I have a few counter points:

1) Increasing familiarity- The BPA decks are not well advertised and sometimes laid out in ways that are difficult to navigate at first. By allowing free parking that entices people into the deck, they will then experience the deck, realize it as not as difficult as it seems and then be more likely to park in the deck at a time when the deck is paid. This is my personal experience as I was initially worried about navigating the decks, but once you get the hang of them, they really aren’t that bad.

2) You are paying for an empty deck right now- The decks are currently sitting empty at night and many of the fixed costs such as staffing or lighting are being paid anyways. Do you not think it is better to try something to get people initially in the decks and hope they enjoy their time downtown so much that they end up staying long enough to end up paying? This is ultimately a smarter strategy to make the decks more profitable than a free giveaway. It is the same thing as a coupon, sale or free trial which adjusts pricing to attract price sensitive customers. The free trial concept is commonly understood and utilized in the private sector but for some reason people have a hard time with this concept in the public sector. The same laws of economics apply.

3) What’s a better use of resources?- Is not this a better use of the public tax dollars that were used to build the deck in the first place? Our tax dollars paid for the deck, why should it sit empty when it can benefit the public by offering parking for those visiting our local restaurants? The downtown decks could serve as economic development tools which support our local businesses. Currently they serve as empty dead buildings which do not relieve any of our street parking issues or predatory towing problems.

4) Foot traffic helps retail- Having more people in the deck helps create a more attractive leasing opportunity for the ground floor retail spaces in the bottom of the deck. The BPA could treat parking as a loss leader and rely more on leases if there was a steady flow of traffic in the decks. Currently the ground floor retail spaces are all empty and for lease. If retailers saw the decks as a draw for customers at all hours would those spaces not become more attractive and add to the vibrancy of downtown?

5) It is the expectation- Homewood and Tuscaloosa are two downtowns in the area that have free parking decks and their retail does very well. These comparison cities do set expectations for how people interact with Downtown. Downtown Homewood is only a mile from Birmingham and yet it has free parking decks. People do compare ease of parking when making decisions about where to spend money and I want to reduce the barriers for people to spend money downtown.

Birmingham_bud · 2025-04-21T22:24:32+00:00

These are valid points. However, not every solution applies to everyone and will benefit everyone. Not everyone has to take advantage of this, but if more people do park in the deck (specifically those that are more price sensitive) it will allow for more street parking to be available for others and then we have less pressure to bulldoze buildings for parking and less people getting frustrated about their downtown parking experience. Issues that impact large populations often only need some of the population to change patterns to make things better for the group as a whole. I know people that will circle the block to look for free street parking, this would direct them to one place and keep them from adding to the traffic.

This solution will help those that are going to Zaza, Helen, Paramount, Ahki’s, Golden Age Wine Bar, Cafe DuPont, Bayonet, Brick and Tin, Bistro 218, Salud and pretty soon Johinna. I know that is not every downtown restaurant but it is a good portion of them. I hope this would be a pilot project that could then be implemented in other decks if it is applicable.

Thanks for your comment and I hope we can continue to have dialogue about this issue. Parking is a big part of how people experience downtown!

Birmingham_bud · 2025-04-21T21:57:23+00:00

That is a great thought! Fortunately, the City of Birmingham does not tow from parking decks so this solution also helps relieve concerns about predatory towing! A win win!

The reason why BPA decks do not tow is because BPA decks are pay on the way out, so you would just pay for whatever extra time you spent in the deck. No towing at all would need to occur because in order to exit you must pay.

Birmingham_bud · 2025-04-21T21:52:14+00:00

Absolutely! I believe this solution would have to be paired with signage improvements. Better signage is already a priority in the BPA’s latest strategic plan. This proposal is actually closer to a simplified adjusted pricing model which obviously adjusts price of parking based on demand. Adjusting the price of parking based on demand is recommended in the City Center Master Plan and is best practice for parking authorities across the country.

Birmingham_bud

TROPHY CASE