The City of Greenville is hard at work to provide a range of parking options in the Uptown shopping district. Three recent actions should bring improvements to customers, workers, and future businesses.

Parking deck design approved.

On Monday night, the City Council approved the design of the soon to be built parking deck. When finished in 2014, the centrally located deck will provide 250 spaces available for lease or hourly parking. Design elements were suggested by the public and draw from design elements in current and previous buildings in this central business district. Construction of the new parking facility is timely, as several new private development projects are expected to find themselves in good company in downtown Greenville over the next year.

New parking options soon available for downtown visitors and workers.

Addressing concerns expressed by downtown merchants, the City worked to adjust the duration of free parking from 1 hour to 2 hours. Merchants expressed concern that the 1-hour time limit did not provide enough time for their customers to dine, shop, or complete an appointment. 

The move to short-term parking helped customers find themselves in the Uptown businesses; however, many business owners expressed concern that the two-hour limit made it harder for hourly and shift workers to find adequate parking. Although available, lease spaces can be a pricey option for some downtown employees while the 2-hour spaces may not cover an entire work shift.

Trying to find a good balance between the needs of customers and employees, the City developed a new E-tag (employee tag) program aimed at addressing the parking needs of the downtown employees. Employees who purchase an “E-Tag” can park for up to 24 hours at a time in designated “E-Tag” areas throughout the district. The cost of this program for eligible downtown employees is less than $3.00 per week.

Spaces to be added along First Street.

In a proactive effort to add spaces to the downtown parking inventory, construction work is underway along First Street.  Crews are currently repaving and restriping the road to improve the surface and increase parking. When the project is completed in November, the project will add 80 new parking spaces. These free, unlimited-time spaces are located within blocks of key downtown destinations. 

For more information about the City’s economic development initiatives, call Carl Rees at 329-4502.

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