Dan Pope Talks Police Substations, Downtown Parking, and Budget

Friday on KFYO Mornings with Dave King and Matt Martin Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope joined Dave King and Rob Snyder to talk about the previous night's city council meeting including sign ordinances, parking in downtown Lubbock, police substation, property taxes, police staff, and more.

When asked about if there has been any interest in changing the sign ordinance, Mayor Pope said that there has been a little interest in something like that, but didn't think that a change was necessary, saying, "I like where we are with billboards. I like the limited number of billboards. I think there's sufficient numbers."

The Mayor also discussed the issue that as the entertainment district grows in downtown Lubbock, finding places to park near the buildings you are going to may be a problem. Pope explained that this is to be expected, saying, "You probably will not be able to park at the front door. You'll park and walk like you do in Dallas, or Austin, or Chicago." He went on to say that since a lot of people will be drinking in these areas, taking an Uber ride is not a bad idea.

When asked if the mayor will be leading area mayors down to Austin again this year and if citizens will pay for it, Pope explained that he will be leading several to San Antonio this year, and said, "Yes, when I go down there on city business it's payed for by the city. If it's personal business it's payed for by me."

Pope also talked about the continued plan for 3 police substations positioned through Lubbock. He explained that one location has already been found for a substation and that they have already hired MWM Architects to design the 11,000 square foot stations. When asked if we will need to hire more officers, Pope explained, "It's not extra headcount, it's just that we'll be moving those folks from downtown out into these substations." That being said, the mayor does hope that we can find room in the budget for more officers in general as well as funding for street maintenance. Finally he mentioned that the construction of Citizens Tower is still on schedule and even under budget.

Watch the full interview with Lubbock Mayor Dan Pope in the video above.

KFYO Mornings with Dave King & Matt Martin airs weekday mornings live, from 6:00 AM to 8:30 AM on News/Talk 95.1 FM and 790 AM KFYO, online at KFYO.com, & on the free KFYO app.