Santa Cruz, CA (est. pop. 64,729), has a thriving downtown. Some 4,000 workers have jobs in the district, and downtown’s mix of early-morning cafés and late-night bars create what Claire Gollogly, the city’s transportation planner, calls a “23-hour” city. There is a catch, though. Downtown Santa Cruz is home to just 2,000 parking spaces. “We…To read more — login/subscribe
Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Ann Arbor, MI (est. pop. 121,885), decided to waive downtown parking fees at attended lots. “The decision to not charge hourly off-street parking customers is directly aimed at helping stop COVID-19 by eliminating cashier interactions with customers,” DDA Executive Director Susan Pollay told the Ann Arbor News. The move came as…To read more — login/subscribe
Little Estes Park, CO (est. pop. 6,248), sees far more vehicle traffic than most towns its size. As a gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park gets 4.5 million visitors a year, most of them crammed into a tourist season from mid-May through October. “We have such intense traffic congestion,” says Vanessa Solesbee, parking…To read more — login/subscribe
Downtown visitors don’t get much joy from parking tickets, but in Muncie, IN, they can feel a little bit better about paying them. For several weeks in July, parking tickets could be paid by donating cat food or cat litter to Muncie Animal Care & Services. In other cities, such as Las Vegas, drivers have…To read more — login/subscribe
The age-old parking practice of using chalk to mark the tires of parked cars faces legal scrutiny - and it just might be unconstitutional. A federal appellate court has sided with a motorist who sued Saginaw, MI (est. pop. 49,366), for violating her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search. The motorist, Alison Taylor, sued after…To read more — login/subscribe
The City of Spokane Downtown Parking Study presents a comprehensive package of recommendations designed to "facilitate growth and activity downtown, while making parking more convenient and user-friendly for residents, businesses, employees, and visitors." See the full study The document, offers a set of coordinated strategies focused on better utilizing existing parking spaces, updating permit programs…To read more — login/subscribe
Many cities set downtown parking rates and then forget about them for years. A few of the largest cities have embarked on ambitious parking plans that rely on wireless sensors and real-time data to adjust prices throughout the day. Seattle (est. pop. 724,764) chose a middle route. The city carefully studies parking patterns and then…To read more — login/subscribe
