Downtown Sioux Falls is home to numerous businesses, restaurants and activities for all to enjoy. But, if one wants to appreciate the experiences it offers, there is a price to pay. This price is the parking fee at almost every parking spot downtown. While the costs are a nuisance, they are manageable. This, however, is subject to change as the paid parking hours are on track to be extended starting in early 2025. Such changes are bound to bring complications for all who frequently spend time in the area.
Currently, the hours of paid parking downtown are from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and the cost of parking is $1.50 an hour. The changes to be made include expanding the parking hours as late as 7 or 8 p.m. and charging the fee on Saturdays as well.
This introduces many problems, one of which is that all meters only accept payments for up to two hours. Many activities in the downtown area (shopping, dining, fine arts) take over two hours, most of which take place after 5 p.m. and on Saturdays. Only select spots are available to be refilled via mobile app, and many activities, for example, a play, do not allow the use of cell phones during its duration. This presents the issue of increased parking tickets. If the paid parking times are extended, parking ticket numbers will skyrocket. This adds an additional cost of $10 or more to the parking price.
A second issue with the extended hours is that not all parking meters in the downtown area accept card payments, and paying with change is nearly impossible for long periods of time. With the cost of parking being $1.50 an hour, one quarter buys 10 minutes of parking. This means that a two-hour activity would require 12 quarters. If hours are extended this makes any activity that lasts past 5 p.m. extremely hard to pay for, especially because these are some of the busiest hours on weekdays. This makes card payment spots very limited.
Finally, a third issue that arises from the extended parking hours is the extreme cost increase for people who are regularly downtown. Those with everyday activities in this area around the time of the hour extension will end up paying over double the price than they had before. Activities that occur from the hours of 4-8 p.m. every weeknight will be paying $6 a night instead of $3. This then becomes $30 for five days and $180 a month, and can quickly become a financial burden for many.
The plan for extended hours of parking fees is a burden to everyone and has many negative effects on the downtown community. It will ultimately cause a decrease in people who come to enjoy the historic area and display of the fine arts in Sioux Falls. To protect the downtown area and increase the overall enjoyment of our city, hours must stay as they are.
