KNOXVILLE, TN (Story courtesy of WVLT) – Making downtown parking more efficient, that’s the goal for Knoxville city leaders.
They’re taking your feedback to make adjustments to their new ParkMobile system.
One downtown business owner said the downtown area has gotten more popular over the years, so that means more people needing to park.
“So I think there’s been some challenges as we’ve grown and as our parking has evolved,” Zack Roskop.
“People who struggle with cell phone usage, using the QR codes to pay,” he said. “Possibly having designated pay stations in designated areas.”
Deputy Chief of Operations Chip Barry said there’s been feedback for adjustments, like adding more free 15-minute spots.
“That’s in response to our businesses and our customers who need that quick access,” he said. “We don’t want to charge them for that.”
Barry said the city also wants to update its parking website and create clearer signs for where to park.
There are signs of success. Barry adds people are paying more on the app compared to the old system, drivers are paying their tickets more because there’s a QR code on the back and customers are using street parking for a little more than 2 hours.
One thing the city learned is to make it clear there’s more parking options other than market square.
“We’ve really been monitoring, especially on high usage days, when there’s multiple events downtown, how our parking system is functioning,” Barry said. “We still see availability of parking even on the most demand days downtown. We had some very busy, busy days with Tennessee theater having shows, baseball, all the events downtown.”
Barry said there’s other city garages like Locust Street and Main Avenue and also free lots on Magnolia.
Roskop said he appreciates the city taking steps to keep parking easy.
“Now it’s about how quickly can they make those minor adjustments to make everybody understand what’s going on,” he said.
Downtown Knoxville Parking (photo courtesy of WVLT)
