If you've spent any time in downtown McKinney, you know there is a parking problem.
The city's planning a $7.6 million parking garage to fix it, but it could end up costing a mom-and-pop shop that's been in business more than 60 years.
"We've been here since '54," said Jeri Thomason-Laney, co-owner of Thomason Tire.
Laney is the third generation to run the family business.
She's seen McKinney grow, and every day she battles challenges that come with it.
"We've been fighting to stay here for so long because you have all the chain tire stores around," she said.
Now, she's fighting a new front that begins in her own backyard.
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"They want to build a parking garage, a five-story parking garage," she explained.
The parking garage will soon go up in a lot at the corner of Chestnut and Herndon streets and will bring 315 parking spots to downtown McKinney.
Now, the city is considering making the garage even bigger, which would extend onto Herndon Street, shutting down the road behind the Thomason's business.
"With this street not open, it would hurt not us but them to try to get into our property, and a lot of people are just not going to because it's going to be too hard to get in here," she said.
It isn't the first time the issue has come up.
Laney fought and won the same battle in April, before a new city council was seated.
"Now we're back at square one again and fighting," Laney said.
The larger garage would bring at least 85 more parking spots to downtown McKinney, bringing the total in the garage to more than 400.
It's not enough, Laney said, to justify cutting off access to her business.
City leaders haven't decided whether to build the larger garage.
They plan to meet with the Thomasons soon and will take up the issue again next month.
