Ramp, Street Parking Changes Coming To Downtown Des Moines

DES MOINES, IA — A change to downtown Des Moines parking approved by the City Council last month will take effect Jan. 17 in the Court Avenue district before spreading to other areas later in the year. Parkers will find lower rates in parking ramps and longer enforcement hours at parking meters.

The changes start mid-week in the area from Second Street to Fifth Avenue and Vine to Walnut streets.Parking meters will be enforced from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, a change from the current hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays only.

In addition, city-owned parking garage rates will be reduced to $1 an hour with a $10 daily maximum.

The idea is to move people who live and work downtown and park on streets into parking ramps, which will free up more on-street space for downtown visitors and shoppers. City officials say in the Court Avenue area the changes will increase the amount of parking for visitors by 37 percent.

"With this new approach, downtown visitors will be able to find curb parking more easily and closer to the businesses patrons want to visit,” City Traffic Engineer Jennifer McCoy said in a news release. “This change helps support a sustainable community in downtown ... by better managing existing parking spaces and adding more free options for people parking on evenings and weekends.”

As part of the changes, all meters in the Court Avenue District will accept credit cards and nearly 300 additional free parking spaces will become available in Polk County lots after 5 p.m. weekdays. Those lots are at Fifth and Cherry streets, Fifth and Wagner, the County Administration lot on Court Avenue and the Election Office lot of Second Avenue.

Also, the Third Street and Court Avenue parking garage will offer pre-sale $5 event parking instead of the varying rate of $5 to $12 currently charged.

City officials plan to extend the "Park Downtown Des Moines" program to other areas throughout the year, starting with the East Village this spring and Western Gateway this summer.

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