MEMBER PARKING CHANGES AT THE ARBORETUM
Posted by woodstock9999@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 44 comments
Received email from Member Services at the Arboretum about this parking change effective 9/1/25 and I am not happy about this change for various reasons. We are members but only have one car so often a friend will pick me up but my membership will not matter and we will have to pay the $15 parking. I also do not like the idea of providing our license plate data to a 3rd party. Not sure what was wrong with the system that has been in place but I assume somehow this is a cost savings measure (reduced headcount) but I think it will result in bottlenecks and issues in the parking lots for non-members as well as members. And if you have issues of any kind, you will have to contact Parking Systems of America for resolution.
| IMPORTANT UPDATE |
| Last week, we reached out to you as a valued member of the Dallas Arboretum to share some exciting news! Beginning September 1, 2025, you’ll have a new way to park at the Dallas Arboretum. The Dallas Arboretum is introducing a new parking program, operated by Parking Systems of America. The program is designed to sustain convenience, promote safety, improve traffic flow, and enhance onsite customer service. As a current member, you’re invited today to pre-register vehicles and continue enjoying complimentary parking as long as your membership is active. If you haven’t registered yet, here’s how to get started today: Click the link below to open the parking registration portal. Enter your license plate number (no member ID required). Repeat for up to two vehicles at no charge. |
Conscious_Club8122@reddit
I am really not pleased with this policy. I own three cars and decide which one to drive daily. When I called Member Services to inquire, they said I should register the two cars I drive the most and be sure to drive one of those, as the third car will receive a bill. What?! So, you are dictating to me what to drive?! Absurd!!
anxious_avocado_3647@reddit
Has anyone gone recently since this ticket update? Planning to go tomorrow with some friends and wondering what this new parking situation is like
lazyluchador@reddit
In other words they sold off parking to a 3rd party, they will sell your personal info, and a towing truck will roam the parking lot hoping to find vehicles to tow
mccaigbro69@reddit
Do you understand how parking companies work?
It’s solely to contract out the entire process of parking to someone else that genuinely specializes in the process. It will allow the Arboretum’s employees to focus on their actual roles, instead of having to police parking.
Also, do you believe people parking illegally should be just able to do so without consequence?
Maybe I’m a wacko, but imo people shouldn’t be able to do whatever they want in a society that has set rules, which many/most play by. Allowing such behavior is how society crumbles even further.
heyashrose@reddit
Omg stfu
flaming-ducks@reddit
I worked in the parking department seasonally and now have lost my job because of this change. they went 3rd party just to save Penny's instead of having employees. the continued enshitification of company's.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
Sorry to hear this and I figured this would happen. Good luck to you.
tynskers@reddit
I’m pretty sure there were absolutely no rules related to parking before.
TheMedianIsTooLow@reddit
Bootlicker.
mccaigbro69@reddit
The license plate garage gates and trackers are honestly so nice if you are actually someone that frequents a place.
No access card, no kiosk to deal with, etc….
OP, you could always have your friend drop you off.
If the friend that drove you also was attending and were not paying for parking previously, they are lucky to have not been towed. The arboretum’s maintenance and upkeep is not free and shouldn’t be expected to be.
electricgotswitched@reddit
The arboretum doesn't track what cars paid or not. You just drove in without stopping and parked. It was all honor system and you paid for parking when you showed or bought a ticket. You could just say you Ubered.
So for members who get free parking it's definitely more of a hassle now.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
And I shouldn't have to have a friend drive me and drop me off. That's absurd.
electricgotswitched@reddit
Are they parking? Or just dropping you off. There is drop off zone.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
They are coming with me into the Arboretum.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
My membership allows for 2 adults as long as I am one of them.
JustMeInBigD@reddit
And the free parking registration is for 2 cars. You can register your friend's car.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
t’s different people at different times in different cars and I am not going to ask a friend who is doing me favor for their plate number. There are other places we belong where we have a sticker for our car but if someone else is driving we just show membership card.
JerseyGirl972@reddit
It’s different people at different times in different cars and I am not going to ask a friend who is doing me favor for their plate number. There are other places we belong where we have a sticker for our car but if someone else is driving we just show membership card.
cluelessinlove753@reddit
Actually, it’s for three adults if one is a caregiver. We’ve always had our Au pair or my mom on the account as well.
ScarHand69@reddit
I recently parked in a garage with no tickets or gate and I bet this is what the arboretum is doing.
Basically they have cameras set up in the garage to track every vehicle entering/exiting. If your license plate is “registered” you won’t get charged since you’re in the system. If your plate isn’t registered you’ll get a letter in the mail with a bill for parking.
The arboretum has not charged for parking in their garage for as long as I’ve been going there. I think you may technically have to pay for parking if you’re not a member…but I’ve never had to take a ticket or wait at a gate to enter their garage. You can just come and go during normal hours. Their lot may be a different story but I never park there so I don’t remember what it’s like.
electricgotswitched@reddit
It's the honor system. Non-members get asked if they parked. If they say no then they don't have to pay for parking.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
Probably why they are making this change - likely many people will be in for a shock after 9/1/25.
giliana52@reddit
There’s a garage? I have always just parked in the lot right by the entrance.
CatteNappe@reddit
Yes, it has a tunnel under Garland road that puts you out by the ticket booths across by the Children's Garden.
ScarHand69@reddit
Yes. Garage is near Smokey Rose. There is a tunnel underneath Garland Rd so you don’t have to wait at a crosswalk to cross the road. There’s also an entrance over there. Puts you right next to the children’s garden/play area.
Clickclickdoh@reddit
I never knew there was a tunnel. I imagined getting into the arboretum must involve a mad game of IRL frogger.
cluelessinlove753@reddit
Yes, and it’s the much better parking option for concerts and the children’s garden. Front gate is better for strolling the areas on that side, food, garden, etc..
FormerlyUserLFC@reddit
You tell them when you pay for tickets how many cars you came in is my understanding
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
We have been members for some time so we get our tix online and they indicate parking included. We park in the lot closest to the entrance not the garage. I honestly have not paid much attention and maybe non-members didn't pay for parking even though it is supposed to be $15. But this will definitely change after 9/1/25.
Bubbly-Assistant-985@reddit
They’re pitching it as convenience but it’s really a data grab and labor cut. Members lose flexibility fast
electricgotswitched@reddit
What labor is being cut? The parking lots have always just been open, and you paid for parking at the gate.
CatteNappe@reddit
It's in the same vein as the transition of the gift shop to management by a third party vendor, but it's going to be pretty impractical for anybody with a membership level that is supposed to allow for guests. Even so, it's not nearly as offensive and money grubbing as the $5 "corkage fee" if you bring wine to one of the concerts.
AppropriateSite9077@reddit
Yet another reason why the Fort Worth Botanical garden is worth the drive. So much better than the Arboretum IMO.
leorising8296@reddit
I go to a workout class that is in a building that uses parking company of America (just assuming they are the same thing) I HATE THEM they are constantly adding new rules the newest one being the camera/plate scanner runs on a timer you only have 10 minutes to register your vehicle before you are charged $90. It’s insane. They just switched to where you don’t have to enter your plate every time, but you have to scan the validation within 10 minutes or else you get a $90 ticket. The validation lasts 2 hours and once I was just 3 minutes past it expiring (I grabbed lunch after my class) …another $90. If this is the same company, just find somewhere else to park.
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
That's crazy!
altagato@reddit
That's absurd and I'd cancel whatever membership it was and tell them that's why...
CellistNo6103@reddit
Email them. I am canceling our membership and pointing to this as cause. Here’s a template similar to the one I sent:
Hi Membership Team,
The new parking plan is not what members signed up for. We were notified on August 21 of changes effective September 1, giving only a week and a half notice.
The short timeline, the need to register, and the risk of being charged daily rates are unacceptable. My spouse often meets friends at the Arboretum, and under this plan our friends would now have to pay for parking. This reduces the value of our membership. At a minimum, members deserve a longer transition period and assurance that benefits will not be lost on such short notice.
The website describes family-level membership as including year-round admission for the primary member and up to five guests, along with complimentary parking for two cars. If the second car cannot be used for a guest of a member, then it is essentially meaningless. For example, when my spouse takes our child for a playdate and invites a friend, the guest now has to pay for parking even though we are not using our second vehicle.
How does this parking plan does not reduce the value of existing memberships?
Sincerely,
woodstock9999@reddit (OP)
Thanks for providing this and I will. I called yesterday but it was end fo day and they said to call back today which I will but also send an email.
Matchboxx@reddit
The easy solution to this is to vote with your dollars. Cancel your membership and explain that this is precisely why. We canceled with the Dallas Zoo for similar reasons. I doubt it made a difference, but if people do it en masse, they might rethink their decisions.
altagato@reddit
We also did it with the zoo, only go on discount days or when folks give us event tickets... When we gave them feedback we knew friends were doing it en masse and they simply didn't seem to care. Tho they're consistently asking us to come back...
Louisville__@reddit
What did the zoo do
ThatOneGuyDotNet@reddit
Yeah, this system is dumb. I like being able to meet at a friend's place and then decide who is driving based on which vehicle is best for the number of people we have covered by my membership. The membership allows me to bring guests, and covers parking. If my car doesn't comfortably fit the number of people going, suddenly my membership doesn't cover parking.
It's pretty simple: they're not honoring their obligations, so I won't be renewing when it expires.
unqualifiedgalaga@reddit
They should have an option with a card or fob for this reason. For example at my work I can register my car, but I can also use the building card if for some reason I’m not driving that car.
CoyoteInBloom@reddit
Well, I only went a few times a year, but now I won’t be going at all.