Increased parking enforcement begins

A number of downtown parking changes kick in Friday.

In an effort to manage public park, the city is installing more than 1,000 new meters, adjusting rates for on-street and garage parking, and increasing parking enforcement.

Officials say the goal is to create more turnover, but they'll get some coin out of this, too. Heh. 

You can find a great map that details the meter locations RIGHT SMACK HERE. 

The ideal occupancy rate for parked cars in short-term metered spaces is 85 percent in a prime city block – meaning that a motorist should be able to find a parking space within a block or so of his or her destination.

In the Cumberland Avenue Corridor, PBA officers also will be enforcing 30-minute limits in designated commercial loading zones as well as discouraging drivers of commercial vehicles from parking illegally on sidewalks or in other non-designated areas.

Starting July 1, PBA will be assigning six officers to enforce parking regulations throughout downtown. In addition, four PBA officers will be handling parking enforcement in the Cumberland Avenue area. (Affected streets in the Cumberland Avenue Corridor include Cumberland, White and Lake avenues; Melrose Place; and Mountcastle, 18th, 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd streets.)

Public garage parking will remain free on weekends and after 6 p.m. on weekdays.

“There’s plenty of parking downtown, and about 90 percent of it – more than 7,500 spaces – is in garages and City-owned lots,” Downtown Coordinator Rick Emmett said. “That’s clearly the best option for long-term parking.

“Short-term parkers – those visiting offices, shops and restaurants – might prefer the convenience of on-street parking, but most spaces are limited to two hours. The short-term meters will charge $1.50 an hour, versus $1 an hour to park in a garage.

“The new parking management plan will ensure regular turnover, and it’s also a more equitable way of sharing a public resource.”

Among the planned changes taking effect:

• New meters will be installed throughout downtown, including the length of Gay Street from Summit Hill Drive to Hill Avenue that does not currently have meters. 
• The meters will be in effect Monday through Saturday throughout downtown, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Gay Street and around Market Square, and from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. everywhere else.  Long-term meters (on the north end of the Gay Street Viaduct and along Depot Avenue and South Central Street) will charge 30 cents an hour, with a 10-hour limit.  
• City-owned garages will continue to be free on weekends and after 6 p.m. on weekdays, and will continue to charge $1 an hour for parking during weekdays. Monthly parking rates at City-owned garages will rise by $5 a month.  
• The monthly parking rate for weekday commuters at the Civic Coliseum parking garage will decrease to $15 a month, from its current level of $20 a month. (New trolley routes provide free service from the Coliseum garage every 7 to 8 minutes on weekdays. The garage is also only a 5-minute walk from Gay Street.)  
• In addition to its downtown enforcement, PBA will enforce meters in the Cumberland Avenue District, between White Avenue and Lake Avenue from 17th Street west to the railroad tracks from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday (but not on home football game days).
• Violators parking in commercial loading zones or no-parking zones will be subject to immediate towing, as will motorists with multiple outstanding tickets for meter violations.

Any funds generated from parking activities will be used to support parking infrastructure and downtown amenities. For more information about public parking in Knoxville, visit http://www.knoxvilletn.gov/parking.

Officials: Downtown Knoxville to undergo a parking meter makeover

Knoxville city leaders released new details Thursday about the upgraded parking meter system headed to Gay Street and surrounding areas this July.

Deputy to the Mayor and City of Knoxville Chief Policy Officer Bill Lyons said most parking meter rates haven't changed in more than a decade.

"We're having all new meters with new technology, and we're going to have meters on Gay Street," Lyons said. "And we're going to have a consistent two-hour limit on the meters in the core of downtown."

Each meter will feature sensors to show which and when spaces are being occupied. They will also accept credit card payments.

“Our entire pricing mechanism is based on turnover on the on-street parking, and we’ve had to adjust our rates to more market standards for that to happen," Lyons said. "But as long as we have free nights and weekends at the garages, everybody has the very easy option of just parking in the garage and walking a pretty short amount.”

Besides free parking after 6 p.m. and on weekends in city garages, meter rates are generally on the rise.

Short-term on-street spots will cost $1.50 per hour with a two-hour maximum stay. Monthly rates in city garages will go up to $5 per month, with downtown residents only required to pay half of that.

Long-term parking spaces will be 30 cents per hour with a 10-hour maximum stay. Those meters will be on the northern half of the Gay Street Viaduct, Depot Avenue and South Central Street.

“Gay Street and right around Market Square, meters will be enforced on Saturdays now, not on Sundays," Lyons added. "Right now, they’re not enforced on Saturday.”

But monthly daytime commuter parking at the Coliseum will decrease to $15 per month, accompanied with additional trolley routes from that garage every 7 to 8 minutes all day on weekends.

Rhonda Byrd lives right on Gay Street, and she said the new meters could help free up spaces she's always on the hunt for.

 “I think it will help the rollover time to where people will have more opportunities to park on the street," Byrd said. “When you come back for groceries, you have to see if there’s a spot anywhere around that you might be able to park for just a minute of time to take your groceries upstairs.”

 More installments later on will include parking apps for the meters, garage technology and evaluations on the new installments.

Workers game system for free parking; county looking to charge everyone

If you haven't seen it, we did a story last night touching on allegations that some county employees are "gaming" a system to get handicapped hangtags, so they can park for free inside the City County Building.

Folks, this is an awful thing to do. Man, seriously. There's a nice hot place for you in the afterlife if you do stuff like this by the way.

Anyhoo, there's a ton of elements to the story.

Here's the beginning, and you can find the rest of it right smack here.

A number of Knox County leaders suspect government workers are cheating a system that allows them to obtain and keep handicapped hangtags so they can park for free inside the downtown City County Building.

Now local leaders want to discourage that by changing state law to allow them to charge disabled employees for parking privileges.

They say the move would add dollars – at least $43,000 annually – to the coffers and prevent some workers from jumping ahead of employees who park elsewhere and have waited years for the coveted garage spots.

It also would be more equitable, overall, for the employees who work in the City County Building, the headquarters of local governmental operations.