I know the topic has been heavily discussed on this site numerous times, however there really was never an appropriate thread created on the topic. Here is an article from today's Oklahoman.

Concerns voiced on Bricktown parking

By Steve Lackmeyer
A few months ago I was invited to speak to the Kiwanis Club of Nicoma Park about development in downtown Oklahoma City. About 20 people meet every Tuesday at the Dixie Diner, and the gathering is one of the best representations I've seen of the old-fashioned, small town America we all hope still exists.
As I finished providing updates on the various downtown projects, the question popped up: Why is parking such a problem in Bricktown?

Of course, not everybody agrees on whether there is a problem, or if it does, what it might be. But everybody seems to have an opinion on the topic, even in rural east Oklahoma County.

Bricktown had a good share of defenders at the Dixie Diner.

Some argued that parking in Bricktown is still a bargain, compared to downtown Dallas, Denver, San Antonio and St. Louis. Others pointed out parking is rarely so bad that you cannot find a free spot within a two-block walk of the entertainment district.

So it's no shock that readers were eager to share their thoughts about the closing of Boone's General Store, a Bricktown gift shop, and owner Lee Boone's criticism of Bricktown's parking arrangements.

Veteran Bricktown developer Jim Brewer, who owns a majority of the surface parking lots between Reno Avenue and Main Street, called to say he thinks Boone can only blame herself for her store's recent demise.

"I've been telling people for years, this isn't the place for mom and pop shops," Brewer said.

Maybe.

Boone certainly miscalculated when she assumed Brewer and others might let her customers park in their lots for free.

Reader Jane Taylor agrees Boone might have made some mistakes -- but the city and Bricktown businesses should have done more to help her survive.

"The city, as well as Boone's adjoining neighbors, didn't make it easy for her to succeed (shame on them)," Taylor wrote in her e-mailed comment. "Personally, I'd like to see more of the smaller, interesting, diverse and unique type of businesses establish roots in Bricktown and other areas of Oklahoma City. These are the types of places I seek out when I visit a different city -- businesses with a taste of local flavor."

Several readers argued Bricktown could be a successful retail destination if it followed the example set by Country Club Plaza in Kansas City -- an urban shopping center developed by G.A. Nichols (who also created Nichols Hills).

G.N. Furseth said he stays away from Bricktown because he doesn't want to pay for parking but admires the plaza in Kansas City for maintaining free parking.

Downtown attorney Elaine Schuster wonders why the city can support out-of-state retailers such as Bass Pro Shops but not locals like Boone.

She also dismisses suggestions by city leaders that $2 nighttime parking at the Santa Fe Garage, operated by the Central Oklahoma Transportation and Parking Authority (COTPA), adequately addresses the need in nearby Bricktown for affordable parking.

"The residential construction on the fringes of Bricktown makes the area more like the County Club Plaza in Kansas City," Schuster said via e-mail. "If the powers-in-being are trying to protect the COTPA garages, they are missing the boat. Those are not near enough to be a part of Bricktown."

Schuster adds Reno Avenue is a busy corridor that acts as a barrier to visitors in Lower Bricktown who might want to patronize businesses like Boone's in the original Bricktown district.

"Reno is comparable to the barrier the North Canadian River formed for decades between Capitol Hill and Oklahoma City -- a barrier for the residents, their thoughts and a deterrent to the movement in both directions for the residents," Schuster said.

"We must utilize our history and the experiences of other places such as the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City."