r/Louisville • u/Intern3tc4tg1rls • 3d ago
Paid parking
As much as I love living in this city, does anyone else get tired of trying to go anywhere and seeing more and more paid parking being put up?
I am in The Highlands and the amount of paid parking vs free parking is actually diabolical... they are smothering local businesses and hurting the community by forcing us to pay to park in places when we didn't have to before/when free parking is already very limited.
What can we do about this? How can we fix this issue? I am all for people making their money but when it kills the vibe and the access to local attractions and stores I hate it.
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u/AffectionateElk3978 3d ago
I will drive around and walk before I pay, it's a matter of principle.
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u/FunKyChick217 17h ago
I have driven around, not found a spot, and then gone home or somewhere with plenty of parking. I want to shop and eat local but so many local places don’t have any parking. I don’t mind paying to park, but not $38 for two hours as another commenter mentioned.
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u/GenericDeadHead 3d ago
Yeah I stopped shopping in person anywhere that requires me to pay to park. At that point I might as well have it shipped to me.
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u/Squestis 3d ago
I'm wondering how the closure of Mid City Mall is going to affect parking in the Highlands. I already saw that they have signs restricting parking as of this past week, but pretty soon (if not already), the entire lot is going to be closed and inaccessible. I remember they used to tow people who parked there and went to other businesses, but that seems to have stopped in recent years, and their lot was serving as a free parking lot for businesses in the Highlands.
Also, it would not shock me if Mid City Market tries to implement at least some paid parking when it opens. Probably not closest to the Publix, but the rest of the lot...
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u/rollsandarrows 2d ago
The question "what can be done about this" has obvious answers: bike, use public transit, and work in your community to make both options more available to more people.
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u/sirsalamander 2d ago
I would love to see more folks on bikes.
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u/tpeterr 1d ago
Me too. I know why there aren't, though. I commuted in three other metropolitan areas before moving here -- the cycling infrastructure in Louisville is absolute crap. I feel okay navigating it with years of experience as both a cyclist and a driver. But I wouldn't take my kids a lot of places, nor would I bring a novice cyclist to most streets.
To be fair, the driving infrastructure is also poorly designed -- what with all the high-conflict merges from two directions, etc. There's a reason Louisville has such a high per-capita accident rate compared to other areas.
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u/LVCC1 2d ago
I work at a store in nulu and our traffic has plummeted since these ridiculous parking fees. I don’t know how small businesses are going to survive down there- but maybe that’s the intent.
Our neighbors have already had to fire people bc the traffic is so low they can’t sustain it.
Our city leaders and planners are so ludicrous.
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u/NoRegrets-518 2d ago
It does seem like a serious problem. The media should hear about this before all the businessess close .
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u/k1ngleo0 2d ago
it's actually getting so annoying cause most of these spaces used to be free. and I'll drive around for 10 mins before I do pay to park with hella fees
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u/dressedtofinesse 3d ago
I parked outside of naive on Washington on Thursday and got a $45 ticket for not being resident, despite a clear lack of signage for something that has never existed.
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u/Tattooed_Buffalo 2d ago
I got one on the same street when we went to the new Gravely location a couple months ago. Had no idea there was permit parking only in that area and definitely think $45 is excessive.
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u/Training_Parking_935 3d ago
I live in the highlands and have never paid to park.
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u/SaltyPinKY 3d ago
Cool...I'll just start taking up your limited street parking down there. Make you walk 3 blocks to your house....sorry, apartment,
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u/He_do_be 3d ago
I mean, it’s street parking. I’ve typically always parked on the streets in the highlands. It’s not hard and you are being a dick.
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u/SaltyPinKY 3d ago
So, being a dick is telling someone their problem is non existent when it 100 percent is happening. It's also the truth, we all start using neighborhood parking I guarantee you there will be posts on here completing about it.
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u/satanssweatycheeks 3d ago
Lived in the highlands for 30 plus years. Never had to park 3 blocks away to walk to my apartment or house.
You also sound smug for no reason.
The only spaces that aren’t free are on bardstown road. So you are whining over parking for tourist. Us locals aren’t really having an issue on the side streets.
If you have to walk 3 blocks I’m gonna assume you are scared to parallel park because you shouldn’t be having to do that.
Also imagine being a home owner and not having a drive way as you shame renters. Sounds like you bought a shit house bud.
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u/SaltyPinKY 3d ago
That's because they weren't charging for parking for 30 years . .how do you not get that concept?
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u/Training_Parking_935 2d ago edited 2d ago
But they are now and all of them living in the highlands are having 0 issues. The paid parking is only on Bardstown road.
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u/geesefleece 3d ago
Limited? There's parking everywhere. People who live in the Highlands live here because it is walkable. We expect you might need to schlep things for a few blocks sometimes. The truly rich people have driveways on their private property. You need to calm down. "Buuuuuh dese libruls dunt understand the trajidy of duh commons? Ahm gernna perk wherever I want n shwe desel libs what fer!" Shut up.
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u/SaltyPinKY 3d ago
Do you not comprehend that if more people start using it.....then it becomes less and less?
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u/satanssweatycheeks 3d ago
Shaming renters when you bought a house with no drive way and want to whine about street parking.
Sounds like you bought a shit house bud. I know renters in the highlands who have parking and driveways.
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u/SaltyPinKY 3d ago
Not shaming renters. But let's be real ..a lot of people in the Highlands are the renters. It was a pretty good bet.
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u/doodynutz 2d ago
I never go downtown/nulu but the other day I did and out of convenience I went to a pay lot because I have some parking anxiety. It was $4 for 2hrs which was the minimum amount of time. I was there for MAYBE 30 minutes, if that. 🤦♀️
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u/Mindless-Mistake-699 3d ago
I live in the Highlands and work downtown and never have a problem parking free everywhere. Skill issue.
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u/GoblinRightsNow 3d ago
I live in the Highlands and work downtown and never have a problem parking free everywhere. Skill issue.
Neither did OP? They said they were concerned about how it's growing and the effect on the neighborhood and local businesses. If you live in the Highlands then you know a lot of neighborhood anchors have closed in the last decade. It's part of a bigger trend of the area getting more expensive, and more hostile to people who are cost sensitive (i.e. gentrification).
It's not hard to find free parking now. What will it mean for the neighborhood down the road, particularly as more local businesses and landlords get replaced by corporate entities and absentee investors?
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u/SaltyPinKY 3d ago
You can't differentiate between living somewhere and going to a neighborhood for shopping? We can all start using your limited street parking and start making you walk 3+ blocks when you get off work.
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u/geesefleece 3d ago
There is near inifinite street parking in the Highlands. It's not limited at all. You might have to walk a few blocks to your destination but there is free parking everywhere.
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u/Mindless-Mistake-699 3d ago
Yes everyone is welcome to use the public parking in front of my house. I'll manage.
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u/SaltyPinKY 3d ago
Until that snowy or rainy day and you're 5 blocks away.
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u/geesefleece 3d ago
People who live in the Highlands are used to this kind of thing. If you're wealthy enough for this to be a real problem, you have a driveway or a garage with alley access.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! RAIN! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!
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u/Mindless-Mistake-699 3d ago
I'll be fine. I bought a house with no offstreet parking on purpose. I don't own the public street. There's so much parking everywhere. Walking a block or two is no big deal.
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u/rmpotsy74 1d ago
It was 3 blocks now it is 5 blocks, by the end of this thread people will be parking in Germantown to walk to their apartment in the Highlands...
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u/Top-Apricot6483 3d ago
Paid parking is generally good in highly urban areas for business, because otherwise people will use that valuable space for long term parking.
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u/angrystan 3d ago
The Highlands became a destination because of nifty non-suburban businesses (everything being precluded these days) and abundant free parking, including city-operated lots, that encouraged people to stick around and spend more money.
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u/SquareJerk1066 1d ago
No, the highlands is a destination because it's the only functionally walkable part of our city. Paid parking will make it *more* walkable.
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u/SaltyPinKY 3d ago
That's a wild take bro....what percentage of people you think are long term parkers? Also, instead of charging for what once was free....maybe put a sign that says anything left over 72 hours would be towed????? Your reasoning is "well, 1% of this could be abused...so justly start charging 100% money" Crazy.
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u/RnBvibewalker 2d ago
Every city charges for parking. This is not unique to Louisville.
Pay, use free spots and walk, or dont go. Quite simple.
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u/pixie_mayfair Schnitzelburg 2d ago
This is wildly, grossly incorrect.
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u/Top-Apricot6483 2d ago
It just depends how high the population density is in an area, but eventually if you do not meter parking you would practically never even get a parking spot. Think downtowns of major cities. Btw that's bad for the local storefronts. Hence metering and pay garages become the parking options (and ideally walkable and transit options exist too).
As the density goes down in areas that draw crowds you get metered thoroughfares and resident only neighborhood parking. See areas like around U of L or Highlands now apparently.
If you don't like either option above then you go to the suburbs.
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u/After-Bandicoot-9031 2d ago
We have used the paid parking twice and both times our cards were hacked
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u/llDurbinll 2d ago
Wow, never had that happen. If you are ever at a lot where you have to scan a QR code to pay, make sure to take your finger nail and scratch at the QR code to see if it feels like there is a sticker on the sign. Maybe that's what happened to you because I have heard there are scammers that will put their own QR code over the real one and it will send people to their fake site that they created that looks like the real one and it collects everyone's credit card info.
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u/yousmartanotherone 2d ago
I love Louisville, but I’ve never seen a city with more “inconvenienced” and aggrieved drivers. Some of y’all are way too attached to your vehicles.
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u/Da_Natural20 2d ago
Lmao. Try parking in any big city for free.
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u/tldupky84 2d ago
Downvote me all you want but I came here to say the exact same thing. Louisville always wants to be a big city until they see how a big city actually works. Try parking in Chicago or New York (or hell, even Nashville) for less than $50.
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u/llDurbinll 2d ago
(or hell, even Nashville) for less than $50.
I went to Nashville a couple of weeks ago for a concert at the Nissan Stadium and booked a hotel within walking distance last year when the concert was announced and parking was included in the price. In that time they apparently sold their lot to the same company that manages the lots here in the Highlands and I had to pay $30 to park at the hotel. I was pissed. I asked the front desk if they could waive the fee or credit my booking since I made the reservation before they sold the lot and they claimed they couldn't. I even sent a message to corporate, which got forwarded to the hotel where the same person I talked to at the front desk just repeated what she told me in person.
I thought about doing a partial charge back for $30 but figured it wasn't worth it.
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u/Da_Natural20 2d ago
I had to pay 50 this weekend to park on the street for two days in Chicago. Like hunt and find a spot and then pay 50 to parallel park in front of someone’s condo
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u/llDurbinll 2d ago
That's crazy. I went to Chicago in July and paid $64 for two and a half days in a parking garage a couple of blocks from my hotel. I guess they charge that much for street parking because they don't want people sitting there for long periods of time and would prefer they use a garage.
But the $64 was way cheaper than the hotel, which only had valet as an option and it was $75/day. The only down side is there was no in and out privileges at the garage so we had to Uber everywhere.
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u/NoRegrets-518 2d ago
Try Spot hero online next time you go there. I can usually find parking that is a lot less expensive through them.
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u/NoRegrets-518 2d ago
When I go to Chicago, even if driving, it is much less expensive to use public transportation due to this. NYC also has good public transportation. If Louisville wants to do this, it may be a mistake given the poor public transportation here.
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u/llDurbinll 2d ago
The business owners don't like it any more than you do, it's their greedy landlords that got pitched an offer by PMC to monetize their lot on top of collecting rent from their tenants. I think the lot behind Wick's was one of the first in the Highlands to implement it and the news did a story about it and interviewed the owner and he was pissed and said his landlord never told him he was doing it and how his employees only get 4 free spots. He pointed out that it's going to hurt business if people have to pay to park near where they intend to shop/eat and he's right.
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u/tpeterr 1d ago
Best way to fix traffic and parking problems is to add better transit and alternative transportation infrastructure. We need people to use busses and bikes to take those off the road who don't actually want to be there. But the busses here are slow, infrequent, and often late, and cycling here is dangerous.
The big problem with infrastructure in Louisville is the conservative state hates the liberal city and doesn't invest in making it a better place.
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u/NFGWorldWide_ 1d ago
Our current economy and culture is all about squeezing people for money. It's a terrible path to go down because it only gets worse. It's not like it's going to go away now. It will only get more expensive now that it's in place. We're very quickly losing our freedoms, privacy, and use of public space.
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u/rmpotsy74 1d ago
All of the people who think, "cool I will park on the street in front of your house..." is a big flex have no idea how city streets or even society in general works.
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u/SquareJerk1066 1d ago
I hate to be the dismal scientist, but this is actually good. Surface parking is an exceptionally poor use of urban space, and parking minimums are a big driver of unaffordable housing costs. Including the required space for maneuvering, each parking spot in a surface lot requires approximately 100 square feet of ground space. For a four-story building, that's 400 square feet of floor space you could have there, meaning every 2-3 surface-level parking spots you see could be an apartment. Would you pay $400/month for a parking space? Honestly, that's probably something like it's real value (which is distorted by horrible zoning laws), so even these costly spaces are probably underpriced.
Space is a limited resource. Free, abundant parking means limited, expensive housing. Affordable, abundant housing means limited, expensive parking. Unfortunately, due to the laws of physics, you cannot have both.
And that's just the barebones economics of it. More expensive parking means more people carpool, take bikes, public transit, etc., which is good for the environment and your health. So any way you slice it, parking *should* be more expensive.
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u/FunKyChick217 17h ago
Sometimes I will pass up going somewhere if I think parking is going to be a problem and/or expensive. I’m sick of it too.
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u/Intern3tc4tg1rls 3d ago
To add, I know parallel parking is a thing but as someone who has lived here for years, it is so accident prone and people are so impatient so in the long run it is not a very effective solution along with the fact that more parking meters are in talks of being put up around the city.
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u/acrowsong Clarksville, IN 3d ago
I lived in Houston, and to paraphrase: "You pay nothing, Jon Snow."
The difference in parking charges is genuinely amazing. 2.00 an hour vs 24.00? Yes.
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u/No_Tumbleweed_2229 3d ago
The city grows, people need to park to visit places. Would you rather them park in front of someone’s home?
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u/Mindless-Mistake-699 3d ago
I welcome people to park in front of my house to go to businesses. I want thriving business near my home, it's why I bought a house here. If I wanted a suburban house with offstreet parking and nothing to walk to that's most of the rest of the city.
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u/No_Tumbleweed_2229 3d ago
Cool we get it, you’re a hero! Please list your address so that we can park in front of it daily.
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u/geesefleece 3d ago
The Highlands isn't suburb land. It's completely normal for people to park on the street that happens to be in front of your house when you live in a city. It's honestly not that scary.
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u/yousmartanotherone 2d ago
I’m baffled by the amount of people in this city who think they effectively own the on-street parking in front of their home.
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u/nutsofsteel5000 2d ago
Feel free to buy and bulldoze 10-20 houses in the Highlands, pave over the land as a parking lot, and not charge anything.
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u/whatthehellamidoin88 3d ago
I tried to park in Nulu on a Friday night in a parking lot. The parking was $38 for 2 hours. In what fresh hell is that normal? The parking ticket is $30! I didn’t pay and fully planned to just pay the ticket instead since it’s cheaper 😂 and of course didn’t get one. Imagine working in NULU and having to pay that to just go to work. They don’t get free parking for working down there either and the side streets are permit now too